Lily and James: The Early Years
by InventorOfFirebolt
Summary: I gently clicked it open. Inside was a picture of me…and James Potter. We were laughing into the camera, and his arms were around me, and my head on his shoulder. "He does have a heart, Lily. And it's full of love for you."
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

"Hey, Lily!" James shouted across the common room. I ignored him and kept talking to Marlene, looking determinedly anywhere but him.

"—so do you think Sirius will ask me out soon?" Mar asked in a hushed tone. Exasperated, I set down my quill and looked at my best friend. She's been asking that for the past ten minutes and it's not making my History of Magic essay (that's due the next morning) any easier. "Well, do you?" Marlene tugged at the sleeve of my robes.

"Why don't you just ask him?" I tried my best not to sound impatient.

"NO!" Marlene squealed. Well, can't blame me for trying.

"Mar, look, I love you, but I need to get this essay finished. I still need twelve more inches!" I brandished my almost-blank piece of parchment at her to emphasize my point. "So, I'm just going to get this Sirius business over with then we're all happy."

Without waiting for her answer, I dropped my roll of parchment on the table and marched over to where the Marauders sat within a circle of admiring girls. Remus was trying to do his Transfiguration homework, but a blonde girl kept stroking his hair. James wasn't looking at any of the tittering females that surrounded him, but rather was doodling on library books as usual. Peter was left unwanted out of the circle, but Sirius was enjoying the attention. Though I despise Potter to death, Remus, Sirius, and Peter were some of my best friends. To this day, I still can't figure out how such an arrogant prat like him managed to snag such good friends who stuck with him for three years.

"Lily!" the idiot yelled as I approached and carelessly pushed a skinny brunette aside. Giving me a dirty look, she and her friends flipped their blonde or brown hair and pranced off; I shook my own dark red hair out of my eyes and dared them to make fun of it. I pulled out my wand and poked James squarely in the chest.

"Out of my way, Potter," I growled. No one messed with Lily Evans when she's got her wand out. I turned to Sirius and just for the pleasure of seeing Potter's reaction, said sweetly, "Paddy, c'mere. I need to talk to you about something."

Remus and Peter stared; James glowered at his best mate as I led him to a secluded spot where no one can overhear us. "What the hell was that about, Lily?" he scratched his head as he hoisted himself up on a table. "You never call me 'Paddy', it's more like 'Black' or 'Sirius' or 'stupid git'."

"Very funny, Black," I replied. "I did that to make James jealous."

Then, I knew I said the wrong thing because Sirius got this sly smirk that only came up when he was up to no good. Which is most of the time. "Make him jealous, eh? Gonna have a little affair, are we, Evans?"

I shoved him away, well aware of the burning lasers that were the eyes of Marlene McKinnon and James Potter, watching us like hawks. "Be serious, Black." I hissed. Before he had time to reply with the overused pun, I cast a Silencing Charm. "Just listen to me!"

He nodded mutely.

"Will you effing ask Marlene out already? She's driving me mad!" I dropped the bomb without warning. He pointed to his mouth and I performed the counterspell.

"Okay, sure. What date?" he asked. "Do we have a Hogsmeade trip this week?"

My eyes widened. That was _a lot_ easier than I thought it would be. "There's a Hogsmeade weekend this Saturday, so you better ask her soon. You do like her though, right?" I asked cautiously. Sirius was a well-known player.

He nodded in what I like to call the _duh_ manner. "_Duh_, great hair, nice smile, even nicer body. What's not to like?"

"And this time you're not just looking for a snog, right?" I pressed Sirius, who nodded again.

"And you won't see other girls behind her back, right?"

Sirius tried to look innocent. "What other girls?" he gulped visibly.

I pulled out my wand a third time. "You know what other girls I'm talking about, Black." I snarled. "For instance, your fan club over there—" I pointed to the group of girls that had encircled the Marauders earlier. "—and I saw that slutty Ravenclaw Maria batting her eyes at you today at dinner." My wand was getting dangerously close to the bridge of his nose.

"I promise I won't! Geez, woman, relax!" he spluttered. I tucked my wand away, satisfied. As much as an idiot and a git as he is, I've never known Sirius Black to break a promise before. "Now, what about that affair?" he wagged his eyebrows at me. I rolled my eyes and gave him a bright red lipstick stain on his cheek. He barked like a dog and pranced over to Potter.

"Lookie here, Jamie boy!" he yelled, twirling around like a ballerina, minus the grace factor. "See this? It's from Evans, mate!"

James stared, apparently too stunned to reply. Remus and Peter turned to look and promptly fell of their chairs. I giggled quietly to myself. The "lipstick stain" I'd given Sirius had morphed into the words "I am a slick git" and was flashing in Gryffindor colors. I could hear Remus howling with uncontrolled laughter under the table and James turned to me with a huge grin on his face. "That is amazing, Lily!"

Giving him a two-finger salute, I returned to my table where Marlene has tears of mirth running down her cheeks and our other best friend, Alice, was rolling on the worn carpet laughing, just like everyone else in the common room. "Dammit, Lily!" Sirius roared, trying to scrape the letters off without success. "I'll get you back for this!"

"Be my guest," I replied, picking up my quill once more. Without Marlene pecking at me every few seconds, I finished the 14-inch essay easily. She even got up the nerve to go and talk to Sirius for a while, albeit with Alice at her side.

Soon, it was around ten forty-five and people were drifting off to bed, some still coming up and high-fiving me for the prank on Sirius. I was reading a Charms assignment when I saw a shadow over me. It was James, as usual. I closed my eyes and groaned to myself. "Hi Lily, that's was a pretty sweet prank you pulled on Sirius," he grinned and sat down in an armchair across from me. Marlene, who was drawing a diagram of a bowtruckle for Sprout before Potter arrived, nudged Alice and they took their books and left for the dormitory, winking at me. Such nice friends I have.

"What do you want, Potter?" I snapped, reminding myself of Professor McGonagall. He looked hurt and a tiny prick of guilt rose up inside me.

_You didn't have to be so mean_, it whispered.

_Shut it,_ I snarled. "James, just spit it out." I sighed.

"Well, I was wondering if you'd come to Hogsmeade with me—"

I cut him off. "No."

His eyes took on this wide-eyed, puppy-dog look.

_See how sad and depressed you make him?_ That goddamned voice spoke again. I imagined cursing it into oblivion.

"Why do you always say no to me, Lily?" He _did_ look sad and depressed.

"Because I don't like you, Potter," I snapped.

"You like Sirius well enough. And Remus. Even Peter," he countered.

"First of all, you shouldn't be insulting your friend like that. Peter is really nice, just a bit slow at times. Second of all, none of them come up to me every effing day, when I'm trying to work or relax, asking me to go out with them!" I snarled and slammed my book shut. Grabbing my bag, I stormed up the girls' staircase but made the mistake of looking over my shoulder. James hadn't moved, but still sat where I left him, gazing dejectedly at me. Green eyes met hazel, but I looked away quickly and fled to the dormitory.

Alice, Marlene, Dorcas Meadowes, and Mary MacDonald were all sitting on their beds, looking expectantly at me. "Well?" Mar demanded.

"Sirius said that you had nice hair—" I began but Alice interrupted.

"No one cares about Black, Lils—" Marlene pouted at this. "Tell us about your little chat with James!"

"What's there to tell about?" I dumped my bag under my bed. "He asked me out again, and I said no. It's the usual routine." At this, all four girls exchanged looks. "What?" I demanded.

Brave Dorcas spoke up. "Lily, you've got to put him out of his misery. He doesn't even play Quidditch well anymore!" I groaned.

"That's just the problem, Dor! I can't! He's such a spoiled brat, he gets everything he wants. Except me. And I am not going to give the satisfaction." I changed into my pajamas.

"Lily, you think this is like a game or something for him." Mary chimed in.

"That's because it is!" I threw my hands up, all patience gone. "Pester Lily until she gives in, snog her a few times, then a week later, toss her aside and start flirting with another girl."

Alice put down her diary and looked at me, sighing. "Lily, I've told you before and I'm going to tell you again: James Potter truly loves you. You're not a prize for him to win; and after he's got you he won't throw you away."

"Oh please, Alice. We're fourteen, for Merlin's sake, how're we supposed to know what love is? Besides, he's a player. He just likes me because he thinks I'll be good to snog, that's all." I answered. Dorcas pulled back her covers and sat up with a determined look in her dark eyes that I didn't like.

"First year, he gave you his mandrake to work with when Professor Sprout accidentally ran out." She said.

"Like that was a treat. Those bloody mandrakes are nearly as ugly as he is," I snorted.

"He wanted you to have a good grade," Alice reasoned, getting into bed.

"Second year, he lied for you after him and you and Black and were caught smuggling candy from Honeydukes." Dorcas continued.

"It was his stupid idea to go to Honeydukes in the first place! But none of them could perform the spell to open the passageway so they dragged me along too." I argued.

Mary shrugged. "So? He could've blamed it on you but he said it was all his idea and had to do a detention with Filch."

We all shuddered, knowing full well Filch would love to hang all misbehaving students by our ankles with a metal chain from the ceiling, and it was only Dumbledore's power that protected us from that.

"And last year, remember? In Slughorn's class you forgot to do your essay and he covered for you by saying he kept you up all night begging you to go out with him. That was funny, that was." Mar ended with a chuckle.

My cheeks became as red as my hair. "That was embarrassing!"

"Hey, old Sluggy bought it." Dor inserted. "And you know that he's got this strict rule of detention every day of the week if someone's missing his homework."

"Not that he would've handed a week straight of detentions to his Lovely Lily, he loves you nearly as much as James," Marlene joked, which earned a round of high-fives from our friends and a glare from me.

"James Potter is a vile, arrogant toerag," I exclaimed. "I can't believe you guys are sticking up for him and not me."

Dorcas piped up. "Actually, he's not that bad on the Quidditch pitch,"

Grudgingly, I had to agree with her. As stupid as he is, Potter has a surprisingly caring side for his teammates. "But we're not talking about Quidditch, we're talking about I'm a prize for him," I reminded everyone.

"Oh yeah," Mary remembered.

"Lily, can't you see?" He's never gone out with a single girl before, surely you've noticed?" Alice said.

I squinted, trying to recall my first two year at Hogwarts. Even back then, a girl was always on Sirius's arm and all the Marauders were swarmed with fans (much like now, nothing's changed much), James never had a girlfriend in his three previous, glorious years at Hogwarts. He pays as much attention to his battalions of admiring girls stalking him as an extra-large box of Cockroach Clusters.

"Okay, so you guys have a point, but Potter will never get to me," I vowed and climbed underneath the warm covers. Following my lead, the others did the same and distinguished their wands and bedside candles.

"G'night, everyone," I whispered into the darkness.

"Night," Dorcas whispered back, and after the flurry of "Goodnight" and "Sweet dreams," we all fell silent. Soon, a soft snore signaled that Mary was already deep in dreamland, but I was still wide-awake, thinking about the things that my best friends had said. Then, that annoying little voice returned.

_Think about it, Lily, _it hissed.

_Go away_, I yelled in my brain. To avoid my conscience (Oh, so that's what the voice is), I turned over and tried to force my brain to shut down and sleep. It worked, as I soon fell into a very restful sleep. It seemed like only a few seconds, however, because the next I know, bright sunlight was streaming through the windows, and Marlene was shaking me awake.

"Lily, get up! We're going to be late for class!" her voice was a tad loud and I winced as I slowly got up and rubbed my eyes.

"What time is it?" I asked groggily.

"Eight-forty something," Alice answered, pulling on her robes.

"Damn it!" I yelped. "Eight-forty! Sweet Merlin, guys, why didn't you wake me up earlier?"

"We tried, but you kept pushing us away and mumbling 'go away'." Dorcas rolled her eyes.

Frantically, I jumped out of bed and pulled on my robes and grabbed my tie and hat. Then, after shoving my quills, parchment, and books into my bag, I yanked a brush through my sleep-tousled hair and ran down the staircase, yelling over my shoulder, "Thanks guys!"

I charged through the common room and out the portrait hole, thoroughly alarmed by the fact that no one was there and all were either eating breakfast or heading for their classes. Was I really that late? As I ran, I put on my tie and jammed the pointed black hat onto my head. Out of breath and panting, I reached the Great Hall. It was empty. Save for a couple of plates with some leftover bacon. My panic amounted. I've never been late for a class before, in all my three and a half years at Hogwarts. I scanned the entire Hall, but not a single student was there.

"HAH!" Someone screamed from behind me. I spun around, and my hand flew to my heart. James and Sirius stood there, looking snarky and triumphant.

"Told you I'll get you back, Evans," Black said coolly, though I noticed that his face still had the letters "I am a slick git" flashing feebly. He noticed me looking and scowled, covering the cheek with a hand.

"How does the damned thing come off, anyway?" He growled.

"It comes off when you stand up at dinner and yell 'I am a slick git' for the whole school to hear. And what do you mean, 'get me back'?" I asked.

He snorted. "As if I'll ever fall for that one," but didn't answer my question.

"See for yourself, and in the meanwhile, enjoy being a slick git. Now if you two would excuse, I'm going to class." I turned on my heel, but haven't walked two paces when I heard Sirius roaring with laughter.

"Oh, my dear, stupid Evans. I always knew you were an overachiever, but not to the point of _this_!" He doubled over and clutched his stomach. I crossed my arms and looked at him.

"And exactly what do you mean by that, Black?" I said coldly.

Looking torn between sympathy and mirth, Potter compromised my holding his watch out for me to see, all the while trying not to laugh. The hands read seven-thirty. Slowly, realization dawned on me.

"I assume that the girls are in on the plot as well?" I tried to state the question as dignified as possible, already planning revenge.

"You assume correctly," Sirius answered haughtily.

"This means war, Black," I growled.

"Bring it on, Evans." He growled back. "Jamie boy here will help me, won't you, James?"

James looked torn. "Er, yeah, of course."

I started back the way I came, calling over my shoulder. "By the way, Black, the spell to get rid of the letters is _Espitolios Dulicies._"

"HA! I knew you were lying to me, Evans!" Sirius yelled after me.

I smiled to myself as I heard him cast the spell.

"So…is it off?" he asked James. I prayed that he would play along.

"Yeah, it is." I heard Potter say, and made a mental note to thank him later.

I sped back to the common room and ran up the stairs. "ALICE! MARLENE! DORCAS! MARY! YOU GUYS ARE DEAD TO ME!" I screamed when I got near the dormitory. I heard a muffled "Oh no" and some scuffling sounds. I smiled again and pulled out my wand. Watch out, world, I thought. Lily Evans is about to happen.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

I frowned as I completed my moon chart for Astronomy. Beside me, Alice and Dorcas were quietly scratching away on parchment, having already done the moon charts assigned this week.

"Guys," I whispered, not wanting for Madam Pince to overhear us. "What's this moon right here?"

"That's Io," Mar said absentmindedly. Gratefully, I copied down the answer. Astronomy was never one of my strong units. Breathing a sigh of relief, I turned to the lunar chart next. This was easy because tomorrow was a full moon and once I knew that, the rest of the month was easy to complete. Finished with all my work, I stood up and stretched, yawning widely. My friends glanced up at me.

"You're done already, Lils?" Alice asked. I nodded. "Oh, can you please come and help me with this essay?" she pushed her half-filled parchment toward me. It was Charms, easily my best subject. And better yet, it was a Babbling Charm. I loved those. I started scribbling for her.

"Incantation…makes…victim…blabber nonstop….until…effects wear…off," I wrote, saying each word out loud as I put them down on paper. "Countercharm…is…an Anti-Blabbing Potion."

With a broad flourish, I finished my last sentence and gave the paper back to Alice.

"It also says we need some practical practice too," Alice scanned the assignment with a frown. Right at that minute, the distinct swaggering figure of James Potter appeared around the bookshelves.

"Hey Lily," He grinned. I heard dreamy sighs from the other tables. A blonde promptly fainted when he brushed up against her hair. I sighed impatiently.

"Go away, James," I said, ignoring his face. "We're trying to study here."

"Yeah James, listen to the red-haired faggot. Come here instead!" The blonde's friend called out, batting her eyes. I didn't mind the comment about my hair color; it would be an abnormal day if someone—normally a girl—I passed in the hallways didn't hiss some kind of mean remark or another. But James apparently had never heard them before, because he took out his wand and pointed directly at the poor girl's face.

"What did you just say?" He asked quietly, his wand poised.

"N-Nothing," whispered the blonde.

"That wasn't nothing, I just heard, you fat bitch!"

"No James—" I ran forward and tried to drag him away from the whimpering girls but he shook me off, a dark look that I have never seen before on his face.

"Never, ever make a crack about Lily's hair ever again." He growled. "I think it's beautiful and better than you sluts can ever be." And with that, whirled around, leaving the poor girl sobbing dramatically. Madam Pince appeared from out of thin air and started whacking her with a bamboo stick.

"Crying—in—the—library—" she snarled, her vulture-like face contorted in disgust. "And all over the books! OUT, YOU IMPERTINENT GIRL!"

The fan club gathered up their stuff and ran out the library, one dragging the fainted girl along with her. The one that had made James so angry turned her tear-stained face toward us.

"I DON'T CARE THAT YOU CALLED ME A BITCH AND A SLUT, JAMES! I STILL LOVE YOU!" She called, causing Madam Pince to hiss and bewitch the girl's bag and quills to chase her as well. James looked at us with a sigh.

"So, whatcha doin'?" He asked casually, as if it was no biggie for him to yell at his fangirls in defense of someone who loathes him.

Alice said, "We're doing Babbling Charms. I need someone to practice on."

At those words, it was as if someone had switched a lightbulb on above my head. Sweetly, I turned to James.

"Hey James," I said, smiling at him. He grinned back.

"Yeah, Lily?"

"Do you love me?"

He looked taken aback but answered, "Of course I do, Lily, why?"

"Can you do me a _leetle _favor?" behind my back, I gestured for Alice to cast the spell as soon as—

"What is it Lily? What do you want me to do, love? I'd do anything for you, you know. I've liked you ever since that first day on the Hogwarts Express. I didn't even mind that you were sitting with Snivellus. That's how much I love you. Dammit, why can't I stop talking? Did you jinx me or something? Oh I get it, it was that blasted Babbling Charm, wasn't it? That was low, Lily, even for you. I hate you Lily, but I still love you. Anyone know the countercharm for this? Sirius probably does. Or Remus. Anyone know where those two are? Lalalalala! I like Chocolate Frogs—"

We were all on the floor now, shaking with silent laughter. James' facial expressions were priceless. So were the things that he was saying.

"—I've never told anyone this but Sirius once tricked me into eating a Cockroach Cluster because he told me they were peanuts that Lily told him to give to me. Oh, bloody hell, why did I just say that? Lily! Why did you do this to me? I need to find Sirius. Where is he? I love you Lily. My wildest dream ever is to shag you. You probably knew that. But I need to stop talking. Immediately. How do you undo this thing? Okay guys, I need to go find Sirius now. He's probably in the Owlery humping Squigs, I always knew that had a thing for each other, never mind that he's got Marlene and the fact that Squigs is an owl. You know, if I can't shag Lily, I'll have to settle for Kronos. Or maybe Frank's toad. Okay. What the hell. I didn't mean anything I just said. Lily would be nice to shag, wouldn't she? I need to go tell Snape to wash his hair. By the way, tomorrow's Quidditch match is gonna be awesome. Anyone coming? Kiss me before the game for luck, Lily? All right, seriously, I need to stop talking. I hate you Lily!"

Then he was gone, running away, still jabbering at top speed. After his echoes faded into silence, we heaved ourselves back into our chairs and looked at each other.

"I think that went well," Alice said mildly.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

"Lils, are you sure this is a good idea?" Alice asked doubtfully. I smiled soothingly at her. Or, tried to. I actually had no idea if this was going to work or not.

Earlier today, I had already jinxed Potter with the Babbling Charm—rather, Alice did, but you get the idea—so I felt a little bad for doing this. But pranks are pranks, and I'm not going back down for Potter's hurt feelings.

"Don't worry, Al. I've got everything under control," I hoped that was true.

Dorcas whispered, "What if we get in trouble?"

"Then I'll take all the blame for it," I promised. Dorcas relaxed and smiled at me.

We were lurking outside the boys' dormitory room, about to prank Sirius and James back. After a long lecture, my girls all apologized for setting me up last time. We plotted for an entire month, firstly to make sure every single detail is perfect, and secondly, for the boys to relax and let down their guard. But now, it has all led up to this.

I had the Spellotape and syrup ready (and in my pocket there was a security cam); Marlene was clutching a bag full of Dungbombs and other Zonko's stuff that we bought at the last Hogsmeade visit (Marlene and Sirius's date went along smoothly. Little did he know his own girlfriend was plotting against him.) Mary was holding the magically enhanced string cheese and whip cream, and Dorcas was levitating a crate of water balloons.

"Wait, Lily." Mary hissed, shifting her loot. "Are we going to do it to Remus and Peter too?" I considered this. Remus and Peter were innocent; it was Potter and Black we were aiming for.

"No," I decided. Mary's face cleared. It was a known fact that she had a crush on Remus.

"All right, girls. Everyone remember what their supposed to do?" I asked nervously. They nodded. "Let's do this, then," I said determinedly and pushed open the door.

All the beds were peaceful thanks to the Sleeping Powder we slipped into the Marauder's dinners a few hours ago. As planned, I Spellotaped James' and Sirius' mouths and for good measure, their chests, giggling at the thought of when they rip off the tape and bring something with it. Then I squirted an entire bottle of sticky maple syrup over their bodies, one bottle apiece. Straightening up, I beckoned to Mary and she crept forward, spraying whip cream around their heads, making it look as if they grew a foamy white Afro overnight.

"Dor," I whispered. She hurried to James' bed and used a complicated little charm to float the balloons in mid-air, above the four-poster, ready to burst when Potter sits up in the morning and breaks one of the cheesy strings that crisscrossed over his head like a maze. We treated Sirius to the same thing and just for the heck of it, I squirted some leftover syrup by the foot of the bed so when they step onto it first thing in the morning, well, let's just say they won't be pleased to find their bums covered in syrup.

Marlene tucked two Dungbombs each under our victims' pillows and hid some around the dorm. Mary gave them goofy mustaches and beards with her whip cream and after one final glance at our sneaky handiwork, we sneaked out, careful to close the door without a sound. We tiptoed back to our own dormitory and only once we were all safely behind the door, did we jump up and down and high-five each other.

"I can't wait for their reaction," Dorcas whispered with glee.

"Me neither," I whispered back. Then I felt the little bulge in my pocket.

"Damn," I groaned. Everyone looked at me. "What's wrong, Lily?" Marlene asked.

"I forgot to the put the security cam in their dorm." I sighed.

"Oh. That's ok, we'll see them tomorrow morning at breakfast," Dorcas consoled.

"No, I'm going back," I said. They looked uncertain. "Oh, come on, give me some credit."

"Well….all right then, I guess." Mary said.

I blew them a kiss as I headed for the door again. Sneaking back into the dorm, I searched for the best angle to place the cam. I opted for the doorway, and levitated the small thing up. Breathing sigh of relief, I turned the doorknob.

"Lily?" A groggy voice asked. I froze, my heart going on a wild broomstick ride. The voice got up and walked up to me. It's got to be either Remus or Peter, as there was no epic explosion. Turned out, it was neither. Frank Longbottom's face peered out at me in the dark. We had completely forgotten about Frank, and as a result, didn't put any Sleeping Powder in his food.

"Frank," I whispered frantically. "Frank, go back to bed. It's nothing. I'll explain tomorrow,"

He looked at me for a second, then shrugged and walked back to his bed. The trip back to my own dorm was uneventful, save for that fact that my heart was in my throat, seeing McGonagall behind every corner, lurking around the back of every armchair. I let go a breath that I was wasn't aware of holding.

"Well?" the girls chorused. I gave them the thumbs-up.

"Tomorrow's gonna be epic," I whispered.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

The buzzing. It was vague and hazy, barely penetrating my muddled mind. Then the thing buzzed again, vibrating against my pocket. Opening one eye, I peered at my alarm clock and promptly jumped out of bed.

"Alice, Dorcas, Mary, Marlene," I hissed, shaking each of them awake.

"Wha—?" Dorcas mumbled.

"Wake up! It's time!" I whispered, a flash of energy running through my body. Mary opened both eyes.

"Guys! Get up!" She yelled quietly, throwing a pillow on Marlene's face. She woke with a start.

"It's time!" I told her excitedly. She squealed and dragged Alice out of bed.

"Al, get up!" she said in Alice's ear. "It's time!"

"What time?" Alice slurred sleepily, rubbing her eyes.

Mary shrugged. "Dunno. Lily seemed excited about it."

I sighed. As much as I loved my girls, they could be a bit slow on the uptake sometimes. "_It's time to see how our prank turned out_!" I told them, rolling my eyes. At the mention of the prank, four pairs of eyes lit up and their owners all scrambled out of bed, fully and really awake. Quietly, we sneaked on soft feet to the boys' dormitory. I activated our side of the security cam to watch the chaotic events that will take place, thanks to our actions the previous night.

After two long, painstaking minutes, nothing happened. We looked uneasily at each other. The prank was supposed to take place two minutes ago. Could something have gone wrong? Did we forget anything?

"Oh damn!" Marlene gasped and fumbled for her wand. With a muttered incantation, she returned to our huddled group.

"What was that all about, Mar?" Dor asked.

"I forgot to activate the Dungbombs," Marlene admitted sheepishly. Mary rolled her eyes fondly.

"Okay girls. Counting down…..three…two…ONE!"

_BOOM! _

The Dungbombs that Marlene placed under the boys' pillows last night went off, leaving behind a thick rancid cloud. Right on cue, the other Dungbombs and Filibuster's Fireworks exploded, showering the inhabitants with confetti. A shiny, pink piglet whirled through the air, meeting a Chinese dragon head-on. They burst into more piglets and dragons, the air now sparkling with stars.

James' head snapped up, eyes wide, and broke one of the cheese strings above his head. A moment later, a crate of water balloons fell and landed open on his head, making him splutter. Black was careful to lower his head as he got out of bed, but sadly didn't pay any attention to the syrup by his bed. Arms waving like windmills, he slid on the sticky liquid and smashed into the opposite wall, comically sliding down and landing in a heap. James, who had gotten over his initial shock, roared with laughter at his best friend and stepped around the puddle of syrup also by his bedside. At least, his facial expressions suggested that he was roaring with laughter. No sound actually came out because his mouth was Spellotaped shut. Raising a hand to rip it off, he gave a start when he saw his right arm dripping syrup. Suspiciously, he looked down at his body and saw the Spellotape on his chest.

_Rrrrrrrrriiiiiiip!_ He screamed in agony as some chest hairs came off when he ripped the tape off. Well, tried to scream in agony. His mouth was still taped shut. By this time, Sirius had recovered, though still looking a bit dazed. James, who has now freed his mouth, really roared in laughter when he saw the "facial hair" on his best mate. Sirius, in turn, pointed at Potter's Dumbledore-like beard and toppled over. Big mistake. Another crate of water balloons shattered, giving him a cold bath and plastering his shaggy hair to his forehead.

Throughout all this, Peter, Remus, and Frank were all doubled over with wild laughter, and so were we. Wiping away tears and swallowing giggles, we opened the door and piled into the mess of a dormitory.

"YOU!" Sirius bellowed, pointing accusingly at us. We tried our hardest to look guiltless.

"Hi boys," I grinned.

"YOU!" James repeated, but didn't look quite as angry as Sirius.

"Yes, me. What about it?" I asked, my face a mask of innocence.

Black gestured wildly, pointing from the dying fireworks to the water balloons to the string cheese to the syrup to his Afro. His gaze landed on Marlene.

"How could you, Mars?" he moaned dramatically. "I thought you loved me."

Marlene strode up to him. "I do. I love you enough to do _this_!"

And she ripped off the Spellotape on his chest in one swift movement. Sirius fell to his knees, howling in pain.

"My manliness!" he cried, covering his hairless chest. I bit the inside of my cheeks and Frank's eyes bulged out with suppressed laughter.

"Great prank, Lily," Remus congratulated me, smiling, Peter nodding in agreement. Frank came up and said,

"Is this why you were in our dorm last night?" Behind me, Alice gasped.

"You didn't tell me you ran into Frank," she said in a hurt voice, the same time James sighed melodramatically,

"All that time that I could've shagged you," he said like Filch when he found out he couldn't whip troublemakers. My cheeks grew red.

"Watch it, Potter," I snarled. He held up his hands in a surrendering gesture.

"Calm down, Lily. I was joking," he sneaked a glance at Sirius. "Besides, I can bet my broom that Sirius was thinking the same thing," he winked at Marlene.

Now Sirius jumped to his feet, repeating my earlier words. "Watch it, Potter!"

Marlene was red too. "James!" She whined. "It was only one date!"

Sirius looked at her. "What do you say next weekend we go—?"

We never found out what he proposes that they do, because at that moment, Gideon Prewitt stuck his head in, looking disapprovingly at all the noise. Gideon was Alice's older brother, and he was a prefect. His eyes widened as he surveyed the mess—an understatement for the remains of the prank—around the dormitory.

"What in Merlin's name happened here?" He gasped, his gaze landing on his sister. "Alice! Were you part of this?"

Alice glanced hopelessly at me. "No, Gide, it was all my idea," I said swiftly, squeezing her hand. He looked suspiciously at me, as if not sure what to believe. I gave him my sweetest smile. He gave in, shaking his head.

"I expected better of you, Lily, but this time I'll let it go. Next time though, this is going straight to McGonagall. And I'll be writing to Mum!" He directed that last part at Alice, who shot me a grateful look as the door slam shut around the hem of his robes.

"C'mon, guys, let's go down to breakfast," I said.

"Wait, don't we have to clean this up?" James said, looking around his dorm. I shrugged.

"I guess. You guys go down, I'll have this straightened up in a jiffy," I told them. They trooped out, Alice and frank laughing together and Marlene and Sirius discussing their next date. Even shy Mary has gathered up the courage to talk to Remus. Peter was left out, as usual.

I turned around to see Potter behind me. _Not again_, I moaned inside my head.

"I've said it a lot of times and I'll say it again," he started. "You know what you're doing when it comes to pranks."

"Thanks." I wasn't lashing out, nor was I being super-friendly.

_It's a start._ Mr. Conscience has returned.

"Lily—?" he got that far before I interrupted.

"If you're gonna ask me out again, then you can forget it," I said flatly.

He frowned at me. "I wasn't gonna do that, I was gonna ask you if you were going to the next Quidditch match."

I was surprised. "I always go to Quidditch matches. For Dorcas and Sirius," I added.

"What, you're going to cheer on them but not me?" He rolled his eyes while I made a sweeping motion with my wand. Immediately, the dorm was tidy once more.

"You're on the Quidditch team?" I asked, feinting surprise. I had gone too far. He grabbed my wrist and pushed me down on a bed.

"Lily. Lily, I'm begging you, please stop pretending like I don't exist," he pleaded. The intensity of his words scorched me.

"I'm not pretending you don't exist," I managed. "Now let me get up." He didn't let go.

"Well, you're damn close to it," he hissed. "I would do anything for you, and here you are, always saying no and sneering at me." With a sinking feeling, I realized what he said was true. _And_ my position was incredibly awkward. So I made a decision that I'm sure I was going to regret sooner or later.

"Okay, time for a truce. How about this: you stop asking me out for one month and I'll try my best to be nice to you," I suggested. "It's a win-win situation."

He considered it. "But after that one month, will everything go back to before the truce? Like me pestering you and you pretending I don't exist?"

"_I don't pretend you don't exist, James!_ And I'll decide whether everything goes back to normal. If we both keep our ends of the bargain, then we'll do another month. If one of us doesn't, then it'll go back to normal."

"It's a deal. Starting…..now!"

I sighed, wondering what I had gotten myself into. It won't be that hard, right? I reasoned. It'll be just like how I treat the other Marauders. And there's going be a plus of him not bothering me. I sighed again, and headed down to breakfast with James by my side


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

"GO GRYFFINDOR!" Marlene, Mary, Alice, and I all screamed at the top of our lungs as the seven figures clad in scarlet robes zoomed out onto the pitch. Even from a distance, Dorcas' long, brown hair, Sirius' shaggy dark head, and James' wide grin were visible to us all. Sirius winked at Mar, who smiled back. Dorcas gave us and Frank a little wave, and James blew a kiss to me. I rolled my eyes.

It was November, and despite the fresh layers of snow on the ground, the weather was amazing. Clear skies, a small breeze, and the sun shining overhead, what else can you ask for? The Gryffindor Quidditch team had trained for two months so far, and this was the first match of the season. We were playing against Hufflepuff, so no one is quite that worried.

"Aaaaaand they're off!" Dominic Jordan said from his perch as commentator. "And the Quaffle is immediately taken by Dorcas Meadowes of Gryffindor! She passes to fellow Chaser Sarah Wood….oof, she got hit by a Bludger sent from Hufflepuff Beater Amos Diggory, dropped the Quaffle, James, get it!" but James swerved by without a second glance at the bright red Quaffle right above him. The crowd murmured, and Dorcas look confused.

"Never mind, the Quaffle is taken by John Bones of Hufflepuff. Soaring to the Gryffindor goal….is he gonna score? NOPE! Blocked by Gryffindor keeper Sasha Robins. Nice move there, Sasha. I've been saying that for years and she still won't go out with me…"

"Jordan!" Professor McGonagall yelled.

"Sorry Professor, it adds a bit of spice into this," Dominic grinned. "Anyway….the score is 0-0, though that's about to change right….NOW! Meadowes SCORES!"

"GO DORCAS!" we all screamed, cheering her on. She flew a victory lap around the pitch and accepted a high-five from Sirius.

"10-0, lions in the lead," Dominic said happily into the microphone. "Hufflepuff Beater Diggory apparently isn't happy…watch out James!" But it was too late. The Bludger sank into his stomach, knocking the wind out of him. Marlene gasped and Alice covered her eyes. He dropped like a stone to the snowy ground, spinning out of control but still managing to land on his feet. I stood on my tiptoes just in time to see James clambering back onto his broom shakily and Madam Hooch awarding us a penalty, while yelling at Diggory.

"That was a foul Bludger hit from Hufflepuff. Wood puts it away, no problem there. Meadowes goes after the Quaffle—Ooh, I think one of the Seekers might have seen the Snitch!" At those words, the whole school shifted in a mass movement to follow the Hufflepuff Seeker and…James?

"What's James playing at?" Frank wondered. Indeed, his sentiment was repeated throughout the whole school. James Potter is a Chaser, not a Seeker. Everyone's eyes were glued to the two blurs, one yellow and one red. The tiny Snitch was fluttering madly, trying to keep ahead of the two pairs of grasping hands. Just as they were about to crash into the ground, James pulled out of the dive at the last second, the Snitch held high about his head. The school exploded. Gryffindor had won the first match of the season, and if we win the second match against Slytherin, that would make us favorites for the House Cup_ and_ the Quidditch Cup. But James' show wasn't over yet. Soaring right up to where I sat with Marlene Alice, Mary, and Frank, he landed smoothly, holding out the Snitch in one hand.

"For you, Lily." He said. I blushed as the entire stadium turned their bodies toward me instead. Catcalls and wolf-whistles rang out, mostly by boys. All the girls, however, scowled at me and bared their teeth. I reached out and took the Snitch, feeling its tiny wings against my palm. In the heat of the moment, I impulsively stood up and kissed his cheek.

"Thanks, James," I whispered.

His eyes grew wide, like he wasn't expecting that at all. Even I was a bit surprised. But hey, he switched over to Seeker just for me, and that couldn't have been easy.

"See ya later, Lils," He grinned as he flew off to the locker rooms. Everyone around me crowded to see the Snitch for themselves.

"Wow, I wish Sirius would do that for me," Marlene said dreamily. All the girls in our year, save for Alice and Marlene and Mary, all crossed their arms and strutted away. I stuck my tongue out at them. I looked around and realized for the first time that Remus wasn't here. Neither was Peter.

"Guys, do you know where Remus and Peter are?" I asked.

Mary answered, "Peter's doing detention with Slughorn, forgot to turn his essay in. As for Remus, I haven't the faintest idea."

I frowned. "I hope he's okay." Mary nodded in agreement, blue eyes wide and worried.

"He's probably just doing an assignment that's due next month," Frank rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, you know Remus," Marlene agreed. We all knew how….er, academically achieved Remus was and soon the thought was put out of our minds.

At the very back of my mind, a discreet dark corner, I remembered that in Astronomy class, when we did moon charts, today was the night of the full moon…

Back at the common room, there was a wild and raucous party thrown for Gryffindor's first victory of the year. Food and drinks, as usual, were nicked from the kitchen. There were also gallons and gallons of butterbeer, several large, sugary chocolate cakes, and enormous plates heaped with all kinds of food you can possibly imagine. And then there was the firewhiskey. I pursed my lips in disapprovingly. I knew, and everybody else knew, that all the Marauders drank. But it didn't stop me from being angry.

"James, you're underage," I tried desperately. He shook me off and said reassuringly,

"Relax, Lily. No one's gonna find out."

"It's not good for you, James!" I was getting impatient with him. He sensed that too.

"Don't worry, I won't drink too much," He soothed, and then he was gone, swept away by adoring fans, leaving me to gaze sadly at him. Well, I tried. Gotta give me credit for that.

Always the life and soul of the party, he and Sirius were dancing on the tables, throwing Galleons into the crowd below them, blowing kisses to the girls and winking flirtatiously at them. It didn't bother me too much; as far as I was concerned, another girl can have him. But Marlene was looking jealously at a blonde that Sirius had just smacked his lips against, while muttering under her breath. For the sake of my best friend's sanity, I made my way to the duo, parting the crowd easily. They looked none too happy, either.

"A word, Black?" I hissed, and thankfully he jumped down right away, scared by in the venom in my voice. As soon as we were alone, I jabbed my wand against his left kidney.

"I cannot believe you, Sirius!" I groaned. "Why in the name of Merlin did you have to kiss that girl?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Why do you care if I kissed any other girls?"

My wand stabbed deeper. "Does the name 'Marlene' ring a bell?" He blanched, clearly have forgotten the promise he made me all almost two months ago. An awkward silence ensued. Then, he started talking at top speed before I could hex him, probably.

"Look, Lily," He jabbered. "I am really, really sorry. I didn't mean to hurt her like that, really. I love her with all my heart and more. I don't know why I did that, it was very stupid of me and I am a slick git."

I snorted. "Here's a suggestion: why don't you go over there—" I pointed to where Marlene sat, looking curiously at us. "—and say that to her instead of me?"

"Great idea!" he bolted out of there to my table. I tucked my wand into my pocket, happy with the way things turned out. I made my way back to my table again, where Marlene looked a great deal happier and was holding hands with Sirius. Abruptly, I changed course. No matter how much I loved both of them (like my own family. Merlin know they're a whole lot better than Petunia), I can't stand the lovey-dovey hippogriff dung that's surely about to pass between them. I headed for Dorcas, sipping butterbeer and having a conversation with an ill-looking Remus.

"Hey, Remmy," I joined them, crunching on a baby carrot. "Why weren't you at the match today?" I eyed him concernedly. He was looking pale, and his hands, normally so steady, were shaking slightly as he held a mug of butterbeer to his lips.

He gave me a faint smile. "I wasn't feeling my best today. Though I heard that James has a little surprise for you?" From the way his eyes twinkled knowingly, I had a feeling he wasn't all that surprised about the surprise.

"The bloke's smitten, he is," Dor rolled her eyes. And right she was, because at that moment, someone asked James up on his glorified stage, "Hey, Potter. Why'd you switch to Seeker?"

And James answered, "It was for Lily, all for Lily. I'd do anything for her."

Dorcas and Remus went "aww" and more than a few people glared at me, the majority—okay fine_, all of them_—girls. I remembered our deal.

"Thanks, James." I smiled up at him. "It was really sweet of you to go through brand-new training for me. I still have the Snitch!" I pulled it out of my pocket and it began to fly around the common room, zipping at breakneck speed. James grinned and I smiled back. His crowd of female fans was visibly beginning to thin out. He jumped down and drained a mug of firewhiskey and walked up to me.

"Hey Lily, can I talk to you for a second?" He asked.

"Of course," I replied, and let him lead me out of the portrait hole into a deserted classroom. Well, it was deserted except for a snogging couple. That couple turned out to be Marlene and Sirius. They jumped apart when we entered; Marlene flushed and ran her hands through her hair, Sirius acted like it was an everyday occurrence for his best friend to walk in on him snogging a girl. Which, if you think about it, is completely possible.

"Hey there, Jamie boy," He said breezily. "Here to snog Evans?"

I wrinkled my nose. "No, Black. We came here to talk. Go snog in another classroom."

He grinned widely at me. "Nah, I think we're done here. Wanna come to the kitchens with me, Mars?" he asked Marlene, who squealed, "Sure!" and then they were gone, giggling.

"So, James." I faced him, sitting on a desk. "What's up?"

He heaved himself up beside me, toying with the corner of his shirt, not really looking at me. I raised his head up with my hand.

"What's up?" I repeated, and this time, James' face was one of complete seriousness.

"Lily, I think it's time to tell you something."

"What, James?"

He took a deep breath. "Remus is a werewolf."

A shocked silence followed. He looked worriedly at me, waiting for my reaction.

"Well," I said into air. "That explains it."

"You mean….you knew?"

"No, not knew, more like guessed. He's sick every full moon, he gets full marks on every essay and homework assignment about werewolves or lycanthropes."

James shook his head. "I told him not to show off. You didn't tell anyone, right?"

"No, did you think I was crazy? Of course not!"

"Well…..there's more." And James proceeded to tell his story.

"Sirius, Peter and I, are trying to become Animagi to help Remus when he transforms. Us in animal form and help contain him, and we are immune to the werewolf's bite. We just can't see our friend go through something like that alone. So we're doing all we could to help him." He ended; waiting for a lecture that he was sure was going to come.

I jumped up and hugged him. _Oh wow, Lily,_ I thought sarcastically to myself. _Second public display of affection today. Potter's really starting to grow on you, isn't he?_

Out loud, I said, "James that is so incredibly brave of all of you to do that for Remus! But I mean….unregistered Animagi can go to Azkaban." I shuddered, thinking about the prison.

He shrugged. "Well, I mean, I'd pretty much do anything for my friends. And you, of course," he added. I sighed. "But none of us wants to go to Azkaban, so we'd appreciate it if you keep it quiet about what I just told you."

"Not a word to anyone," I swore. "I'd rather die than betray my friends."

He smiled. "Am I your friend?"

I considered this. "Sort of. In the middle, I guess." His smile grew wider and took my hand in his. It was quite large and warm, calloused from Quidditch practice, yet soft at the same time. I like the feel of his hand, I decided_. What has that damned truce done to you, Lily? _

"Hey, by the way, thanks again for playing Seeker for me," I said. "You didn't need to do that, you know."

He shrugged. "I always wanted to see what Seeker felt like, besides, presenting you with the Snitch is one of my wildest dreams,"

I blushed. "Are you serious?" I asked unbelievingly. "One of your wildest dreams is to give me a Snitch?"

"Along with shagging you, but that's taking a step too far."

I shoved him "James! Shagging me? Really?"

He shrugged again. "Hey, it's just a dream!"

"You're pretty good at Seeker," I said, remembering how fast we had won the match.

"I was just lucky that the Snitch appeared so early in the game," he said modestly.

"You know, you're not all that bad," I said, smiling up at him. He smiled back, holding my hand tighter.

"I'll take that as a compliment, Your Highness," He teased. I smacked his arm.

"I'm being serious, James. Before I just thought you were a spoiled idiot whose greatest ambition in life was to make me miserable," I told him. He looked appalled.

"Was I really that bigheaded?" He asked quietly. I laughed.

"That much and more," I held my arms out wide. His brow furrowed, but before he could say anything, the door to the classroom moved.

"Having a big heart-to-heart, are we, Evans, James?" Sirius's voice floated to us. Marlene was with him as well, looking excitedly at me and James. I was aware of our intertwined hands, but made no move to free myself. _I'll be his friend_, I said to myself. _I mean, why not?_

"You'll never guess what happened!" Marlene eagerly said to the other girls. Alice's eyes never left her diary, and Dorcas glanced up briefly from her book to smile at Marlene.

"We don't need to hear about the details of you and Sirius snogging," Mary groaned. Marlene looked hurt.

"I wasn't going to!" She snapped. "I was talking about Lily and James, for Merlin's sake."

That got everyone's interest. I pretended to not hear her and finished up my essay for Sprout. I already knew what Marlene was going to say, something along the lines of "Lily totally fell in love with James". But that was not true. It was not _love. _That much I'm sure of. But in a month, we had gone from mortal enemies to almost friendly. That was something you don't see every day. Something that good can't possibly last, I thought to myself. I was actually a little sad that one day, James would do something stupid to ruin our friendship. Again, that much I'm sure of. It'll be just like him.

But something was there, under the arrogance and boasting. Something deep. His unwavering determination. His loyalty to his friends. His willingness to die for them, if necessary. Before tonight, I had no idea that someone like James Potter could possess those qualities, but there he was, as good as telling me that he _will_ become an Animagi and he _will_ help Remus or die trying. Okay, maybe die trying was a bit of an overstatement, but the point is, he would risk school rules and the law to help someone who needs him. And that alone bound our friendship for almost two years.


	6. Chapter 6

AN: thanks to everyone who read this! just for clarification, the review apparently by myself was written by my mother xD i left my account on and she actually read my story. am i the only one who thinks thats a bit creepy? ****

Disclaimer: i don't own any characters that you might recognize! Yes, i did make up quite a few characters but the rest of the people are JK Rowling's :)

**Chapter Six**

The holidays were almost upon us. It was only the first week of December, yet already, there were signs of Christmas. First, Hagrid has started breeding giant turkeys for the feast. The suits of armor were scrubbed squeaky clean and if you be polite to them, you can occasionally be rewarded with a verse or two from a Christmas carol. The teachers were feeling rather festive, too. Professor McGonagall actually let her hair down, the first time in ages that anyone, even the other teachers, could remember. Professor Flitwick decorated his classroom in flashy colorful tinsels that turned out to be tamed Cornish pixies. Professor Slughorn now strides around the castle sporting a Santa hat instead of his usual wizard's hat. The Great Hall was already undergoing Operation Christmas. The usual twelve Christmas trees dominated the Hall, and a couple also appeared overnight in the all common rooms.

Despite the jolly mood in the castle, our homework piled higher than ever. Even I, being the academic that I am, had trouble keeping up with all the essays we had to write. I pity James, Sirius, and Dorcas with all their Quidditch training in the freezing cold weather. After every practice they'd troop inside, looking like an ice sculpture.

"Don't worry, Lily, we're used to this," Dorcas would assure me after she sat down with a crunch at dinner—her thick robes were frozen stiff. Sirius added, with his mouth full,

"It'd be worth it if we win the Cup," He mumbled. Marlene frowned at him. "James is gonna get you another Snitch, just you wait and see."

James himself was not at dinner, doing a detention with the Astronomy Professor Allumé-Seins. I scowled at the thought of her. She's almost twenty-three but acts like one of James' many fangirls. She outright flirts with him during class, and often bends down in front of his to pick up an imaginary quill that she dropped. It's quite disgusting, really, the way she acts. And she absolutely hates me. Wonder why that is.

I finished dinner in a few hungry gulps, remembering the two essays that I still haven't done for Arithmetic and Runes. "See you guys later," I said as I grabbed my bag and headed for the library. At the entrance, however, a thin shadow blocked me.

"Lily, can I talk to you for a minute?" A low voice asked. I recognized it as Severus. Surprised, I nodded. Following him to an empty corridor, he turned to face me.

"Lily, there are rumors around the school that you and _Potter_—" he spat out James' last name like it was dung. "—are going out—"

I interrupted. "They are nothing more than rumors, Sev. We are _not_ going out and probably never will."

It was impossible to gauge his true emotions, but I thought I saw a flicker of satisfaction behind his black eyes. "Lily, are you doing anything next Hogsmeade weekend?"

His question took me by surprise. "No, why?"

He hesitated, and then blurted, "Well—you see—it's just—I was wondering if you'd come to Hogsmeade with me. We haven't talked in ages."

I smiled at him. "Oh, of course, Sev! Yeah, we really do need to catch up with each other, it's been almost three months and we've barely had a proper chat—" my attention was diverted as a tall figure came toward us.

"Lily? What are you doing here—?" James spotted Severus, and the expression on his face was one of pure loathing. "Get out of here, Snivellus," he sneered. Sev's eyes were unreadable. Then he turned on his heel and walked away, robes fluttering around his skinny frame. James turned to me.

"Why in the name of Merlin were you and Snape alone in a corridor?" He demanded. "He could've hexed you!" I sighed.

"James, Severus wouldn't hex me," I explained. "He's my friend! And I don't think that you're actually worried that he's going to hex me; I think it's more of a personal thing—"

He cut me off. "Lily, he's an oddball up to his large greasy nose in the Dark Arts. What if he hurt you? I'd never have forgiven myself."

"James. He. Won't. Hex. Me!" I said through clenched teeth. He glared, but thankfully let it go. As we rounded the corner to the library, I turned to wave goodbye, but he was still at my side. "Don't you want any dinner?" I asked him. Eyes glowering, he shook his head.

"Oh, c'mon, James." I grabbed his arm and dragged him to the Great Hall, where I piled his plate with some beef casserole just as it was about to be replaced by a plate of truffles. I gave him some of that, too. He made no move to eat it. I sighed, placing my hands on my hips.

"Eat," I commanded. He picked up his fork and speared a bit of casserole then put it down again, chewing the small piece. I glared; his face was twitching.

"You think this is funny, don't you?" I asked. He didn't acknowledge me. "Well then. Have it your way." Pulling out my wand, I muttered a spell that enlarged his mouth then promptly used a fork to shove half of the plate into the gaping hole. He choked on all the food and I thumped him on the back until he could properly breathe again.

"I'll eat," He croaked. "Don't you ever do that to me again, Lily Marie Evans!"

I smiled. "Don't you ever make a fool out of me again, James—"

He yelped. "Don't say my middle name!"

"—_Charlus_ Potter." I ignored him and turned to my own plate. James sat beside me, stony-faced. A bunch of short first years heard, and were whispering and pointing at him.

"Didn't anyone tell you that pointing is rude?" He snapped and immediately the small group fell silent, too terrified to do anything. I sighed.

"James, go easy on them. I'm sorry I said your middle name, okay?" I apologized.

"Whoa, back up, Evans," Sirius plopped down next to me. "What's this I hear about Jamie boy's middle name? He's never even told any of us!"

Surprised, I looked at him. "Really? I thought you guys were supposed to be mates!"

Sirius shrugged. "You know what they say, dates before mates. Even the dictionary agrees!"

"First of all, we are absolutely _not_ dating. Just friends. And second of all—" I paused, realizing I didn't have a 'second-of-all'.

Sirius shrugged it off. "Never mind that, what's his middle name?"

"Lily," James said warningly. I looked at him.

"James, Charlus isn't such an awful middle name!" I blurted out then covered my mouth. "Oh damn. Forget I said that!"

But Sirius was already standing up on the table, his arms waving high above his head. "EVERYBODY! JAMES POTTER'S MIDDLE NAME IS CHARLUS!"

A group of Slytherins laughed nastily, and further down the Gryffindor table, his fangirls tittered and crooned.

James glared murderously at his best mate. "Sirius Orion Black. I will get you back for this!"

Sirius hopped down, looking hurt. "But James! It was all Evans' fault!"

James crossed his arms. "I don't care. You're the one who shouted for the whole school to hear. That's why I never told you my middle name in the first place!"

Sirius groaned. "Dates before mates indeed."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

_I was falling. From a very tall building, actually. My limbs were frozen in place and my wand was nowhere to be found. As I fell, I saw familiar faces. Mum. Dad. Tuney. Alice, Marlene, Dorcas, Mary. Peter, Remus, Sirius. James. Everyone I had ever met and seen in my entire life flashed before my eyes. Despite my imminent death, I wasn't worried, at all. Because James had broken away from the other people and was falling alongside me. Only, James made it look like flying downwards, whereas I was just…..falling. _

"_Don't worry, Lily," He said, his voice echoing slightly, as if from the other side of a long tunnel. "I will always be here for you."_

_But then, he was gone. His face replaced by the bony, angular face of Petunia. "Freak," She sneered. "You were always a freak, even before you went to that—that school."_

_And she too faded, and Sirius' face appeared instead. "I don't know what James sees in you. You're a waste of his time." He said in a cold voice. _

_Remus. Yet he was not Remus. His messy, sandy hair was taken over by thick, coarse fur. His warm brown eyes turned into the cruel, gleaming pupils of a lycanthrope. His slender fingers and strong arms morphed into hooked claws and muscular forelegs. His face…perhaps that was the most terrifying of all. His face twisted and melted like wax and reformed into a long snout and let out a frightening howl, showing long, jagged yellow fangs._

_Then Alice and Marlene and Mary and Dorcas were in front of me. "Lily, Lily, Lily," They chanted. "Lily, Lily, Lily," but their familiar, kind faces changed into a pale, colorless face with gleaming red eyes and slits for a nose._

"_Beware, Lily Evans. I will find you…"_

_And James was back, his voice urgent. We were almost as the bottom now. "Lily." He whispered. "Wake up!"_

"Lily! Wake up!" he hissed again.

I woke with a start, a layer of cold sweat on my forehead. A wand was lit and illuminated in its pale glow was the face of James Potter.

"Gah!" I yelped and reached for my wand, which I lit.

"Lily!" Dorcas jumped from her bed and lit her wand.

"Lils! Is everything ok?" Now we woke Alice, too.

"Slumber party, eh?" Mar's heart-shaped face was visible.

"Well, let's not disturb Mary—" I said.

"Someone say my name?" Mary rubbed her eyes and sat up. I sighed and lit a candle instead. We all distinguished our wands.

"Now that everyone's awake, James, are you going to explain why you robbed five girls of their much-needed beauty sleep?" Marlene asked, swinging her legs over her bed. "And how in the world did you get up here?"

"I Transfigured a ladder," James said carelessly.

Well then, Mr. I'm-the-best-at-Transfiguration.

"I've got something to show you," James continued excitedly.

"Well, show us tomorrow, it's like two in the morning right now," I snapped. I was still shaken and dazed from my nightmare.

Marlene sent me a reproachful look. "Don't be so mean, Lily. What is it?" She said to Potter, who just shook his head. "Can't tell ya; Sirius made me promise."

At the mention of Sirius, Mar gave a little squeak and I fought the urge to roll my eyes at my best friend. Alice asked,

"Will Frank be there?"

Mary said, "What about Remus?"

Dorcas shared my sentiment, at least. Or maybe it was because there wasn't a boy that she as crushing on, unlike our friends.

"James, we have Quidditch practice tomorrow at seven! And I was planning to actually get some sleep tonight!" She said crossly, crawling back into bed and pulling the covers over her head. I felt a surge of affection for her.

James' face fell. "But—it'll be gone by tomorrow!"

"What'll be gone?" I asked, my interest aroused despite myself. He took advantage of my curiosity.

"You'll never find out if you don't come with us," He said with a devilish grin. I threw a pillow at him. Guess that's why they say "Curiosity killed the cat." Except that I'm not a cat. And I'm not dead_. I will be_, I thought grouchily, _if I step out in this weather._

"C'mon, Lily," He begged. I shut my eyes briefly, cursing my life. When I opened them again, James' face wore the saddest (and most adorable…) expression I have ever seen. I felt the corners of my mouth lift up in a tiny smile, remembering the days that I used to pull the same trick on my mum whenever I wanted something really bad. Note: I'd never make my parents guilty over something that I _kind of_ want…..so whatever this was, it was very important to James. And I couldn't hurt him that way. The Lily three months ago would've said no without hesitation and gone back to bed, but this Lily is a different person. This Lily's heart twisted and was on the verge of giving in—

"All right James. Make it fast, though." I groaned and with a huge effort pulled myself out of bed and pulled on a cloak and stuffed my bare feet into some boots. Dorcas glared at me but put on a scarf and a coat as well. There was chaos as everyone tried to find their scarves, hats, and gloves. Finally, after we've all been bundled up properly, James lead the way out of the dormitory and out into the corridors. The Fat Lady woke up and said sleepily,

"I wouldn't go outside if I were you; it's snowing like crazy."

Her words were as true as can be. The snow was so thick that I could barely see a few feet in front of me. Snowflakes were sticking to the lenses of James' glasses, but he wiped them off impatiently and kept trudging forward determinedly. The ferocious wind tugged at our hair, almost ripping it off our scalps. Or maybe only I felt like that; Marlene's long blonde hair was tucked safely in a warm hat, Dorcas had her hood up, and the wind didn't bother Alice's short, tomboyish hair in the least bit. I cursed myself and put my hood up as well, the sharp, icy snowflakes stinging it. Just then, a strong gust of wind knocked me off my feet and I tumbled into a snowdrift, face first.

"Lily!" James called. I heard his voice, but I couldn't see him in the dark storm. I tried to roll over but more snow just covered my face. Then, thankfully, I felt a pair of hands digging through the thick snow. I grasped them and allowed myself to be heaved rather unceremoniously to my feet. Shaking my frozen hair out of my eyes, I saw that James had rescued me, and my friends were huddled together, arms linked. We joined their small group and link arms as well, so no one would get lost in the storm.

After what felt like hours and hours, we stumbled into the approximate area of a warm fire. The snow had also stopped, and all six of us crashed into the soft snow on the ground_. How good would it be, I thought drowsily to myself, if I can just lay here and sleep…_

But of course, just as my eyelids were growing heavy, someone shook me into blasted consciousness. "Lily," James' voice. "We're here. This is what I wanted you to see."

A part of me wanted to tell him to go away so I can sleep, but the rational (more or less) part of me told myself that I didn't come all this way just to sleep. So with a loud groan, I dragged myself up again, and rubbed my bleary eyes. Then rubbed them again. Then a third time, because what I was seeing was surely a product of my imagination.

"So, what do you think?" James grinned broadly. I blinked rapidly, still not believing my eyes. Hesitantly, I reached out a hand and then it was confirmed: this was real. My fingers met solid blocks of intricately carved ice. These blocks were used to construct several beautiful sparkling igloos. Beside me, all the girls had expressions of wonder and amazement on their faces as they began exploring the inside. I heard Sirius, Remus, and Peter call out for them to come in and have some hot chocolate, which left me and James alone.

"How did you do this?" I asked, still stunned. He shrugged modestly.

"Pete was the one that made the ice blocks, and then Remus carved the designs onto them. Sirius helped me with the lights," He added. And that was the most miraculous thing of all: there were soft, Christmas lights shining from _within_ the ice. I knew that it took a very difficult charm to do that, maybe sixth year level.

"James….you didn't have to…" My voice trailed off. He gazed into my eyes steadily.

"Yes, I did," He whispered. I was afraid to blink. The tip of his nose touched mine. I could literally feel his heart thumping. For the first time, I noticed that he had curious little gold flecks in his hazel eyes. He was so close…

"Ooooh, look at the lovebirds!" a voice crowed. We jumped apart, each blushing furiously. Sirius was grinning at us triumphantly.

"Sirius. Orion. Black." James snarled.

Sirius looked at him innocently. "Yes, mate?"

"I am going to kill you,"

Sirius looked nonplussed. "Yeah, people always say that. I don't know why, I'm such a charmer," He winked at me. I marched up and punched him in the nose.

"ARGH! DAMMIT, EVANS!" He roared, clutching his broken nose. "I do all this for you and this is how you thank me?"

I smiled angelically. "No, not quite. There's also _this_!" And I kneed him where it hurts the most on a man. He collapsed, now howling in pain. Marlene and Dorcas came out looking for the source of the sound and found Sirius in the snow, writhing in agony.

"Sirius!" Marlene gasped, sinking to her knees beside her boyfriend. "What happened?"

"Evans happened," he moaned. Marlene looked accusingly at me.

"It's his fault for barging in on me and Ja—" I clapped my hand over my mouth, but it was too late. Marlene immediately abandoned Sirius.

"What were you guys doing?" She asked keenly, eyeing both of us. I looked down at the ground. "You weren't _snogging_, were you?"

"Marlene!" I yelled.

"So you _were_ snogging!" she concluded and ran back to Dorcas. "Dor! James and Lily kissed!"

Dorcas gasped happily, looking at us. "Really?" She asked excitedly but didn't wait for an answer and ran back inside. "Mary! James and Lily kissed!"

I slapped myself on the forehead. If I knew my girls—and I did—then by next morning the whole school would know that Lily Evans had finally given in to James Potter.

"I am going to kill Marlene," I growled murderously.

"And I'm going to kill Sirius," James repeated. Just then, Mary and Remus came out holding hands. I raised my eyebrows at the pair of them and they quickly broke apart. I grinned. It was nice to have someone else in the spotlight for once.

"What's this is heard about you and James?" Mary wanted to know.

"Mary—" I didn't get very far before Marlene shot out and announced:

"Lily and James kissed!" Mary gasped and Remus just stared. Peter waddled out.

"James! You snogged Lily?" He asked, his voice squeaky from the excitement.

"Yes, yes, it's true, they were snogging!" Marlene said impatiently. Everyone burst into exhilarated chatter, leaving me and James stony-faced.

"Oi, can someone help me up?" We had almost forgotten about Sirius. "Not you, Evans!" he added hastily. I smiled again at him.

"Don't worry, I'm just gonna fix your nose. _Episkey_!" his nose was fine once more.

"Thanks, Lily," He said grudgingly. I surprised him by tackling him in a bear hug.

"What's this, Evans?" He asked interestedly. "Did you finally realize how good-looking I am?"

I snorted at his arrogance. "No you idiot, it's a thank-you hug for building this for us."

"So you kiss James and all I get is a hug?" He looked hurt.

"You're lucky to get a hug at all, _and I did not snog James_!"

"It's okay, Lily, we don't care if you snogged our best friend," Remus said kindly.

"Yeah, for us, it's a mission accomplished," added Sirius.

I groaned. "I love you all but I kind of hate you guys right now."

Sirius grinned cheerily. "I know, you just can't resist me."

"Sirius, you are getting very close to having all your teeth punched out," James warned.

"Guys. For the last bloody time. We were not snogging!" I said hotly.

Remus rolled his eyes. "Keep on telling yourself that."

"Lily, if you don't want to tell us, then it's fine." Marlene said in a matronly voice. I glared daggers at her.

"Marlene Elizabeth McKinnon. We. Were. Not. Snogging."

Mary spoke, "Guys, I think Lily is in denial. We need to leave her and James alone for a second." A wicked twinkle was in her normally-kind blue eyes.

"Mary Blake MacDonald!" I yelled. "Why don't you and Remus go and snog, then?"

Remus turned red. "Lily, this isn't the best time—" I ignored him and turned to Sirius.

"If you think it's so funny, I'd like you see you and Marlene making out!"

Sirius glanced at Marlene, then shrugged and kissed her on the lips. Marlene's face promptly transformed into something that resembled a tomato. I sighed.

"Lily, just admit that you kissed James and we'll leave you alone." Dorcas yawned.

"Yeah, we just need to hear that you kissed James, is all," Marlene added. I sighed again.

"Okay fine. I, Lily Evans, kissed James Potter, on this day of December 14th, at approximately two-forty five in the morning. Happy now?" I shot at everyone.

Marlene's eyes grew wide, and she nudged Dorcas, who nudged Mary, who nudged Remus, who nudged Peter, who jabbed Sirius in the ribs. They seemed to have a silent conversation using nods and blinks, occasionally with a small gasp thrown in.

"What the bloody hell are you guys doing?" James asked, his annoyance obvious.

"Lily," Marlene breathed.

"Yes. That's my name." I said sarcastically.

"You kissed James!"

"Funny, you'd think the whole world would know that by now." I was feeling more and more harassed. How had such a wondrous night turn into this?

"You guys said that you'd leave us alone if Lily admits that she kissed me," James reminded them. I had a bad feeling that this was never their intention. I was proved right.

"Lily kissed James, Lily kissed James," Sirius chanted, and soon the others joined in.

"EVERYBODY SHUT THE BLOODY HELL UP!" James shouted. Immediately, everyone shut up. "You guys are ruining my present for Lily!"

I realized I haven't even seen the insides yet. This whole experience was marred by our friends. James was right: they did ruin it. All this aggravation on top of my nightmare was making me feeling very unbalanced indeed. The matrix of 'Lily kissed James' was giving me a major headache. So I did something that anyone who knew me well would expect me to not do under such stress.

I burst into tears.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

"Lily, wait!" I heard James call after me as I stumbled blindly through the thigh-high snow, brushing my tears out of my eyes. My perfect night was dissolving rapidly. The happy joy that I had when I saw those igloos has evaporated, leaving only confusion and anger. _Stupid Marlene_, I thought. It was all her fault. More tears fell; clouding my eyes and making me trip over a tree root. All around me, there were scratchy leaves and gnarled branches. Dammit, I must be in the Forbidden Forest. In my haste to get away, instead of going in the direction of the castle, I had stumbled into the Forbidden Forest, where werewolves were rumored to live. Lucky me, eh?

"Lily!" I heard James' thunderous footfalls crashing through the undergrowth. Despite myself, I couldn't but smile a little. James wasn't clumsy, I knew. It must be all the snow plastered onto his glasses. Then I remembered what happened a few minutes before and my smile vanished. I squinted, trying to make out a way to get out without bumping into James. There seemed to be a light at the end of a tree trunk so I started walking as quietly as possible to that possible exit.

"Lily?" Came James' voice again, in the direction of the escape route. I cursed quietly, reverting to Plan B. Then I realized I had no Plan B because there wasn't any other way. I looked around desperately when I felt something brush up against my arm. Stifling a scream, I realized it was just a stray feather from a nearby bird. Calming my heart, I crept forward again, realizing I had left my wand back in the dormitory. Dammit.

"Lily, I know you're here somewhere," _Congrats, mate, you're not deaf_, I thought sarcastically. I groped in the dark, my eyes almost slits. Then I felt something grab my waist.

"ARGH!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, reaching for my wand before I remembered again that I didn't have it.

"Lily Evans!" I heard James hiss. "You almost shattered my eardrums!"

"Let go, James! I don't want to talk to you!"

"Let's get out of here, then I'll let you go," he suggested, tugging at my hand and pulling me toward my former escape route. As soon as we stepped into the pale moonlight, I twisted free and started stomping toward the castle. As I expected, he caught up and spun me around.

"James Potter," I growled. "Just let me go. My night's been horrible enough."

He didn't have his glasses on, making him look younger; almost like a little kid whose gentle eyes didn't match with the smirk decorating his lips. I glared up into those eyes and he smiled back. I glared harder.

"Look Potter. I need some peace and rest after all that…happened earlier…" I finished pathetically. He scowled at the memory.

"I'm sorry, Lily." He said softly, holding me closer. "All that about us was getting to me, too."

"Join the club," I mumbled miserably. Everything was ruined. All James' hard work has crumbled into nothing but bad memories. I knew our friends were just teasing but the maliciousness was just too much for me. A few blasted tear drops leaked out, rolling down my cheeks. I rubbed them away, embarrassed to be crying in front of James.

"It's okay, Lily. You can cry if you want." He murmured, stroking my hair. I sniffed, trying to hold the tears back in. _I will not cry, I will not cry, I will not cry_, I chanted inside my brain.

"I hate everything right now," I admitted. "I hate Sirius, I hate Marlene, I hate Dorcas and Mary and Alice and Remus and Peter. I hate my life!"

He said nothing, still stroking my hair. There was a certain comforting quality to that movement, the feel of his hand against my skin. The silence stretched, but it was a companionable silence. Finally, I said,

"I'm sorry, James. You four worked so hard on those igloos," I sniffed again. "And I didn't even go inside…"

He looked at me. "We can go now, if you like."

"I don't want to see the rest of them right now." _And preferably never,_ I added.

"They've gone back to the castle. I told them to go before coming after you."

Well. That was a plus, at least. I considered it. "Yes please," I said eagerly.

"Want me to carry you?" He grinned. I rolled my eyes.

"Nice try, Potter, but I can walk."

He shrugged. "Suit yourself."

Within five minutes of torturous walking—no, more like dragging my feet through the blocks of solid snow and ice— I was more than ready to take back my words. James smirked as he swung me up into his arms.

"Don't you dare try anything funny, James Potter," I warned. He rolled his eyes.

"Like what?"

"If you drop me, I will hate you forever."

"Oh please. I've carried books heavier than you."

"Wow, you actually read. I guess it's true that you learn something new every day," I joked.

"Who said anything about reading?"

"Huh?"

"It was a prop. If I sit around in the library playing Exploding Snap with Sirius, Madam Pince will have my backside tanned."

"Whoa. Wait a moment. You've been inside the library before?"

"Not to read, I assure you," He said with a shudder. I huffed.

"Then what do you do there, besides play Exploding Snap and having no respect for the people studying?" I asked.

"You," he said simply. I was still confused.

"Me?"

"Yeah, you. Whenever I watch you in the common room, you're always scowling or glaring at me. But in the library, I can watch you laugh, smile, talk, everything."

"Mostly because I would never imagine James Potter in the library," I muttered, cursing my reddening cheeks.

We were silent and for a while, the only sound was the steady crunching of snow under his feet. Then I remembered something that I've always wanted to know.

"Hey, James? I have a question."

"What is it?"

"Why do you like me? Even though I've always said no to you?"

"And kicked, punched, slapped, pranked, cursed, hexed, insulted, and numerous other things you'd do to me every chance you get?" He added on to my question. I scowled.

"I do not do that! Only when you ask me out."

"Which_ is_ every chance I get," he laughed. I scowled deeper.

"Just answer the blasted question, will you?"

"Well…I suppose it's just that. Pretty much every girl drools at my feet but you're the one exception. You actually dare kick, punch, slap, prank, curse, hex, and insult me. I don't want a stupid, useless pretty girl groveling on her knees for me. I want someone that can stand up to me. I want someone that doesn't take me for granted. I want someone that can match my own fire. And you are that fire."

"Very poetic," I teased. But deep down inside, I was stunned, and more than a bit flattered. And I always thought he only bothered me because I'm the only he can't have. "So…let me get this straight: you are not a spoiled, arrogant brat who only claims to love me because I'm the only girl in the school that doesn't love you?"

"You thought I was spoiled and arrogant?" He asked in a hurt voice. I nodded. "Well, my parents had me pretty late in life so they pretty much give me anything I want. As for arrogant, I don't think I'm all that arrogant…" he trailed off.

"You're arrogant, James." I told him. He grinned sheepishly.

"It's also true that you're the only girl who doesn't faint at my irresistible charm and good looks—I'm joking," He added hurriedly as I frowned at him. "—but I love you for more than that. I love that you're smart, you're brave, you're prettier than anyone else I've seen, and you are absolutely amazing when it comes to pranks. I'm gonna need a girlfriend who can help me prank Sirius," He said, grinning.

"Still a little shifty on the 'girlfriend' part, but if you ever need someone to prank, just give me a call," I grinned back at him.

"It's not like you're saying that you'll never be my girlfriend," He allowed himself, happily. "We're here, by the way."

And we were. He let me down carefully, looking proud that he hasn't dropped me. I walked slowly inside, taking in every little ornate detail. I reached out a hand to trace the delicate patterns, feeling every dent and hollow.

It was beautiful. The Christmas lights shimmered softly, lighting the ceiling, like mini fireworks. A Transfigured couch and a beanbag dominated the circular floor, which was laid with a soft rug. There was also a hot chocolate machine that emitted gigantic marshmallows and thick, creamy hot cocoa. I looked around, beaming happily.

"Do you like it?" James asked quietly. I turned to him and gave him the same hug that I gave Sirius earlier. But this one was closer, warmer. I wrapped my arms around his neck and didn't let go.

"How can I not?" I answered with a light laugh. He grinned back, and those beautiful gold flecks in his eyes twinkled. "By the way, did you know that you had gold in your eyes?" the question was out before I could stop it. I realize how stupid that sounded and mentally cursed myself. He didn't think so, apparently, because he laughed and pulled me closer.

"You're the first to notice, actually," He whispered. "Because no one else has ever been this close to be before."

I started to back away but he held me. "I didn't mean that! I meant…no one has ever been this close to my heart before."

My _own_ heart almost failed. Suddenly I couldn't breathe. He was too close again, our noses touching, lips only a few centimeters apart. Somehow, I knew from numerous cliché Muggle movies and books that this is where the protagonist couple kisses, but instead of feeling whatever you're supposed to feel when a boy's lips were descending down on yours, I felt panic. So if James was disappointed, well, blame it all on me.

"James." I took his face in my icy hands. "James."

"Lily." He replied, smiling.

I took a deep breath. "James, I don't think we're that—"

He froze, looking confused. Then he slowly drew back.

"It's okay, Lily. I understand." His voice was husky, like he was holding back tears. He broke away, almost like he was afraid to hold me any longer, like he might break if we made the smallest contact. He turned away to get a mug of hot chocolate, leaving me there, arms hanging at my sides, a steady stream of endless guilty coursing through me.

"James—" I tried. He didn't turn around and I noticed his hands gripping the handle of the mug, his knuckles so tight that they turned white.

"James, please. Look at me," I pleaded. This time he whirled around, wordlessly facing me. I looked at him. Sadness still lingered in his gaze. I took the mug and gently wrenched it from his hand, afraid that he'll shatter it. His now-empty hand clenched, like he was longing to strangle someone. I took that hand and gripped it tightly. It trembled a bit, like he wanted to pull away, but I held it tighter.

"James, please, just listen to me," I begged. He didn't acknowledge me but I went on anyway. "James…in less than four months, we have gone from sworn enemies to close friends," I said, carefully choosing my words, lest I accidentally say the wrong thing and that's just what we need, on top of this fiasco. "Lily Evans and James Potter. That's a story that almost everyone at the school's heard. And they made bets, on whether I'd give in one day, or stay firm." I added. It was true; I once overheard two Ravenclaws actually exchanging money over _us. _"Everyone, and I mean everyone, even our best friends, were leaning on the side of 'No'. But…in less than four months we've become friends and I'll bet most of the school will be changing their minds now. James, you're amazing. You've got brains, looks, courage, friends….everything. I love you for it. I mean that. Even if you are stupid and haughty and the biggest prat I've ever had the misfortune to meet." I added, trying to bring some light into this serious conversation. The corners of his mouth twitched, like he was trying hard not to smile.

"I really do love you, just in a different way. I love you like a brother, someone who spoils me with really great gifts. Someone that teases me but makes me laugh. Someone who's always there for me when I need it. Someone like you. And I want it to stay that way for now." He raised an eyebrow. "_For now_," I emphasized. "You might not have to wait long, I mean, our relationship changes pretty fast. In four measly months, I've gone from hating you to being polite to friendly to sitting next to each other at dinner and doing homework together to…this." I gestured around the fabulous igloo. "Who know what'll happen in a few years, months, or maybe even weeks from now?"

He had stayed silent during my long speech and he said nothing now. Instead he pulled me into a warm hug, one that I accepted readily.

"Lily," He said thickly. When he looked at me I saw tears sparkling in his eyes and falling down his face. I raised a hand to wipe them away and he took that hand, pressing it to his lips. "Thanks, Lils."

I smiled at him. "You're welcome, James."

And that was that.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

Somebody was pecking at my ear. "Stop it," I mumbled, burying my face into my pillow. They didn't. "James? Are you pranking me?" I demanded without opening my eyes. Then a faint memory stirred…..

_The igloos, the kiss we almost had, running into the Forbidden Forest…_

That was all I needed. Eyes flying open and bolting up, I found myself in the girls' dormitory. In _my_ bed. With _my_ pillow. And _my_ owl was pecking impatiently at me.

"Wha—?" I moaned, confused. The memory didn't match up with this. And the fact that Tunia still hasn't given up didn't help in the least bit.

"What do you want?" I snapped at her. She stopped and regarded me reproachfully with her huge green eyes, much like mine. Dropping the letter that she carried, Tunia flew off without further ado, scratching me on the head with her sharp talons as she soared away. I cursed, rubbing my crusty eyes and opening the letter. It was a short note, a few sentences long, from James.

_Lily_, it read.

_I'm at Quidditch practice, hope you didn't mind that I used Tunia. By the time you wake up though, I'll probably be done so meet me in the Owlery. We need to discuss some things._

_ Love,_

_ James._

I looked at it, mystified. Was he going to talk about us and our relationship again? I was still feeling terrible from what happened last night. Thank Merlin the dorm was empty, I thought angrily as I remembered what my so-called friends had done. I glanced at the clock on my bedside table: it was ten past nine. I vaguely recalled that James had practice at seven and a fresh wave of guilt washed over me when I thought of how tired he must have been, staying up so late. I groaned and got up, pulling on a T-shirt and some jeans and headed down to the Owlery, grabbing some treats as a peace offering to Tunia and raking my fingers through my hair on the way out. Thankfully, none of the girls or the other Marauders were in the common room and my good luck held as I climbed up to the Owlery. James was already there, eating some toast stacked on a napkin and scratching away on parchment.

"James Potter, caught doing homework!" I gasped theatrically. He looked up and grinned at me, sticking the last bit of toast into his mouth.

"Hello to you too," He chuckled and offered me some toast. I took it gratefully, aware of my rumbling stomach.

"So what happened?" I asked. He knew what I was talking about.

"Well…I think we fell asleep," he began thoughtfully, scratching his chin with his quill. "Not together!" He added quickly. "I Transfigured a bed for you then I slept on the couch. Then in the morning I levitated you back to the castle and then went to Quidditch practice."

"There was no one in the dorm, though. And I didn't see them in the common room or the Great Hall."

"Yeah, I told them to stay out of your way if they wanted to live to see fifth year."

"Thanks."

"No problem."

"So…the igloos melted?"

"Yeah." Then, from under his robes, James pulled out a stack of colored photos. I flipped through them, marveling again at the ice structures. "Something for you to remember them by."

"Muggle pictures?" I asked, for the photos stayed unmoving. He nodded.

"I've got magical ones of all four of us around them but I don't think you'd want them right now."

"You're right."

Then I remembered the Owl Treats I still held in my hand.

"Just one second," I told him and quickly got up and found Tunia. She covered her tawny head under one wing as I approached, turning her feathery back on me. I sighed. "Tune, look, I'm sorry, okay?" She didn't respond, but I thought I saw her wings shift a bit. "I'll let you eat breakfast with me tomorrow," I offered. She uncovered her head, looking interested. I held out the bar of Owl Treats I had brought with me and Tunia realized this was too good of a deal to ignore. She gobbled it up and gently nibbled me on the ear. I took that as a gesture of peace and walked back to James, carefully avoiding the piles of dung on the straw.

"What'd you do, Lils?" He asked, gesturing to Tunia.

"I was a bit harsh to her this morning," I shrugged.

He snorted. "Better than old Squigs, at least. Almost bit off Sirius' nose one time, he did." I shook my head and waited for James to finish his essay. In the comfortable silence, I studied James. The way his hand moved over the parchment, the way his brow furrowed when he stopped to consider his next sentence, the way he ruffled his hair with his free hand, even now. His entire body radiated restless energy and the easy, athletic grace of someone who's spent his lifetime on a broom.

He caught me staring at him and smirked, one corner of his mouth lifting up. "Whatcha looking at, Evans?"

I blushed and looked past him out the window. "I was looking for….er…Squigs," I answered haughtily. He raised one eyebrow.

"Yeah? Well, just to let you know, Squigs is up there," He pointed with his quill to a rafter above his head, where Sirius' barn owl rested, one wing over his head.

"Don't fancy yourself, Potter." I couldn't come up with any better retort and he sensed that. His smirk grew bigger.

"Keep telling yourself that, Evans. I still say you were looking at me."

I opened my mouth to reply in kind but his smirk was gone, replaced by the air of seriousness that only comes when planning a prank.

"You're gonna prank Sirius and Marlene and the lot of them, aren't you," I predicted.

"You know me too well, Lils," He grinned. "But yes."

"To be honest I kind of expected this," I sighed. He rolled his eyes.

"Well, obviously! You didn't think I'd take this lying down, did you?"

"I hoped," I muttered under my breath.

"Well, your hope is denied."

"Whatever, James. So what's the plan?"

He grinned and showed me the parchment. It wasn't homework at all. It was a complicated diagram showing exactly what will happen to exactly who it will happen to. On the back there was a list of materials that we needed.

"So here's what we do…"


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

"Lily?" Marlene asked tentatively. I glanced at her, as I would someone I recognize from Gryffindor but had never talked to before.

"Hello, McKinnon," I said carelessly to her and sat down next to James who winked at me and gave me a thumbs up. It was all part of our "act", to ignore our friends then after the prank—which is amazing, by the way—everything goes back to normal. Well, as normal as it can be around here. Which goes without saying, isn't normal at all.

"Hey James," I greeted him like we haven't just plotted for two hours in the Owlery. Piling my plate high, I realized just how ravenous I was; that piece of toast from James' napkin seemed like, well, two hours ago.

"So Lily, wanna go to Hogsmeade later?" James asked. I winced internally, having to actually say yes for once. He sensed it and rolled his eyes

"Sure James," I replied sweetly. James grinned and we ate lunch in a thoughtful silence, each going through the list in our heads. The real reason that we were going to Hogsmeade was to pick up all the supplies we need for the prank, but our friends didn't have to know that small, vital tidbit of information.

"Shall we?" James offered me his arm, like they did in old Muggle movies. I snorted and stood up, pushing his arm away.

"It's bad enough that I had to say yes," I hissed in his ear. "I don't need to hold your hand as well."

He shrugged. "Suit yourself."

I rolled my eyes. "Just get on with it."

The line for Hogsmeade was relatively short today, and in a matter of minutes, we were in the village. I pulled out the list, while James was on guard for our friends.

"Right. Zonko's first," I said, heading in the direction of the joke shop. It was packed with eager students, intent on driving Filch mad with the latest stock of Dungbombs, Instant Peruvian Darkness Powder, and all kinds of other prank materials. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw that none of our friends were here. But there were tons of other people. People who have been closely monitoring me and James for almost four years, now.

"Oi, Evans!" A Hufflepuff that I've never talked to before called to me. "Are you on a date with Potter?"

The store, which was buzzing loudly before, turned quiet almost the second the words fell. I groaned inwardly.

"No, we are _not_ on a date," I said firmly, pushing past him. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get something."

But it wasn't over that easily. I should've known.

"James!" A fangirl screeched, causing James to wince. "Are you dating Evans?"

"No, I'm not," He tried to explain. Well, at least the idiot didn't lie and say that we _were_.

"You finally said yes to Potter, Evans?"

"You two are going out?"

"Lily Evans and James Potter are going out!"

"SHUT UP!" I shouted. The shop was quiet once more. "Thank you," I said and grabbed James, pulling him into a random aisle. We both breathed a sigh of relief, and I consulted the list once more.

"So. Dungbombs, Peruvian Darkness Powder..." I ran a finger down the list. "You get these and I'll get _these_."

* * *

><p>Ten minutes later, we escape from Zonko's, both clutching heavy shopping bags.<p>

"Well, that's everything." I said, looping the bags onto my arm, and sticking my cold hand back into my pockets trying to get the circulation started again. "What do you want do? Go back to the castle?"

"Why don't we go to the Three Broomsticks and get something to drink?" He suggested. "Try and bring a bit of a 'date' perspective into this, you know," He winked at me.

"Potter, when are you going to give up?" I sighed.

"Evans, when are you going to say yes?" He countered.

"If I had it my way, then never."

"Then I'll never give up."

"Let's see how long _that_ lasts," I smirked. He shrugged and we trudged toward the Three Broomsticks. Inside, a very-welcome blast of heat enveloped us. I breathed in the heavenly scent of warm butterbeers and headed over to an empty table.

"Two butterbeers, please," James called to Madame Rosmerta. "Thanks Rose!"

"Sure thing, m'dear," She giggled and gave me a glazed smile. I sighed.

"Being out here with you really made me popular with the ladies, eh?" I observed. He glanced sideways at me.

"What do you mean?"

I shook my head, marveling at his cluelessness. "Forget it,"

"Tell me," He insisted. The butterbeers arrived.

"Six Sickles please," Rosmerta simpered. I dug in my wallet and pulled out my half of the three.

"Wait, Lily," James intercepted my money. "You weren't going to pay, were you?"

Surprised, I looked at him. "And why wouldn't I pay?"

"Isn't it traditional for the male to pay?"

"Erm, yes, but this isn't a date, James," I reminded him. Was it my imagination or Madame Rosmerta's face just clear a tiny bit? At least she's not glaring at me anymore.

"Oh…right," James let go of my hand and paid his half of three Sickles. We sipped our drinks in silence. It seemed as if silences were endless between us. It was fine that way, I think. We're comfortable around each other now, to some degree, at least.

"What _did_ you mean?" He asked quietly.

"What?"

"You said that being out here with me made you popular with the ladies. What did that mean?"

"I was being sarcastic, James,"

"Well I know that, but just tell me."

I looked at my hands in front of me, playing with a fray on my scarf. "They think we're on a date," I looked up. "And they don't like it."

"Oh…" James seemed at a loss for words. "Er…"

"Yeah," I sighed. This was getting pretty awkward.

"Would you like to turn this into a date?" James teased.

"In your dreams," I snorted.

"Shall we go then?" James ignored my statement. I stood up and tied on my scarf. We then left the sanctuary and warmness of the pub and ventured out into the bitter coldness. It was still snowing but the sky was darker now. I checked my watch.

"Merlin, it's already time for dinner!" I yelped in shock. This day seemed to go by fast.

"Yeah, we better go back to the castle," He said. The snow fell steadily, a wall of whiteness on all sides of us. I closed my eyes and imagined the amazing, hot food that'll await us back at the castle, and that image gave me the strength to keep plodding forward in the thick, frozen snow.

"Yes," I moaned as the lights of the castle finally came within sight. My determination renewed, I grabbed James' hand and more or less dragged him in my wake.

"Lily!" He complained. I ignored him, my one-track mind focused on food. I was practically salivating.

"Come _on_, James!" I pulled harder. Grumbling, he picked up his snail pace and after what seemed like eons later, we finally arrived at the doors of the castle.

"You're hungry, aren't you," James panted, bent over, trying to catch his breath.

"More like starving,"

"We just had the butterbeers!"

"Butterbeer isn't food," I answered haughtily. Marlene and Sirius weren't at the dinner table, but Alice, Dorcas, Peter, and Frank were. I noticed that Mary and Remus were missing and didn't bother to hide my grin as I imagined what they were probably doing at this moment. The others looked at me and James like a detonating bomb. My hand was still in his, and I made no move to pull it away. _It's what you wanted,_ I sneered at them in my head. James was still breathing heavily.

"Aren't all Quidditch players supposed to be in top shape?" I inquired, pulling an empty plate toward me. He glared at me.

"Are you questioning my masculinity?"

I rolled my eyes. "No, I'm questioning your physical conditions."

"In a man's mind, they equal the same thing."

"Men are pretty stupid, then," I teased, taking a big bite of a forkful of lasagna. He playfully shoved me, causing my elbow to dip into my plate.

"JAMES POTTER!" I screeched and flung a bit of pasta at him. He cackled and dodged, smearing some sauce on the front of my shirt. I picked up an entire dish of pork chops and hurled them at him. He yelped and upended an unfortunate plate of broccoli and dumped it on me. I grabbed a small plate of chocolate cake and lobbed it at his nose. A tiny bit clung to it and he became cross-eyed, trying to keep the small bit in sight. I took that opportunity to smash the rest into his face.

"Oh no you didn't Lily," He mock-growled and grabbed a pitcher of pumpkin juice, soaking my hair, my jacket, everything. I was about to retaliate when I felt a tight hand on my arm. I looked up into the horrified face of Professor McGonagall.

"EVANS! POTTER!" She screeched, rabid fury radiating from every part of her. She didn't say anything else after our surnames but it didn't take a genius to figure out what was coming next.

Oh, bloody hell.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

McGonagall was shaking. Quite literally shaking. James and I stood in her office, waiting for our punishment to be dealt out.

"Such impertinent—food fight—never seen anything like this—" she muttered, pacing back and forth, wiping her head with a tartan handkerchief. "Potter, I understand, but Evans? Incomprehensible!"

"Well, that's mean," James muttered.

"What was that, Potter?" Our Head of House frankly was _scary_, as she whipped her head around to glare at James.

"Nothing, Professor," James said hastily. Good thing he didn't call her Minnie. Then we'd really be doomed, more than we already are. Is that possible?

"Evans, what were you thinking?" She finally uttered an intelligible sentence, looking at me with no anger, no wrath. Just disappointment. "I expected better of you!"

"Sorry, Professor McGonagall," I mumbled, ashamed of myself. What _had_ gotten into me?

"And Potter!" She snapped, ignoring my apology. "You and Black is a common occurrence, but I never thought I'd live to see the day when you and Lily Evans stand in my office together!"

"But Sirius was being a prat—" James protested. McGonagall cut across him.

"About time, too!"

"Wha—?"

"Which reminds me, Slughorn owes me five Galleons!" she said gleefully. "As for you two, detention tomorrow night with Hagrid, ten o'clock sharp. Run along, now."

And then she swept out, still giggling to herself about 'showing Horace' and left us there, staring after her, mouths hanging open. Finally, James voiced the thought that has been screaming at my brain.

"What the bloody hell was _that_ about?"

-xxx-

"You know, this isn't too bad of a punishment," James remarked as he lifted a fluffy niffler out of its cage. I sighed, trying to get a strand of hair out of my niffler's mouth.

"No you dunderhead, this is absolutely torturous," I said sarcastically. "Hasn't it occurred to you that McGonagall gave us a light punishment to begin with?"

He paused, giving the niffler ample time to stick its muzzle into his ear, apparently looking for earwax. "Really? Never thought of it like that before," He frowned and dropped the poor creature. I sighed again. For someone as intelligent as James, he could be awfully stupid at times.

"Hello, yer two," Hagrid beamed as came out of his hut. "I hear from Professor McGonagall of a certain food fight, eh?"

"It was fun!" James said defensively. Hagrid's grin grew wider.

"I bet it was," He winked at me. I blushed and turned to my niffler.

"These animals are cute, Hagrid," Such a smooth transition, huh?

"Yeah, they are, aren' they? So yer two were in the food fight _together_?" Hagrid pressed, having none of the business of changing the subject.

"There was only the two of us, Hagrid," James said. I cursed his cluelessness as Hagrid's eyes took on a keen gleam.

"Hmm," He mused. I glared at him. "Well anyway. What we're doin' tonigh' is just to comb their fur, nothing too hard. See, Professor Kettle likes them soft for his students. Ar' yeh taking Care of Magical Creatures this year?" He asked. We both shook our head.

"So we just use these combs?" I pointed to a few normal-looking brushes by the pumpkin patch.

"Yeah, and yeh just it do it like this," He demonstrated tugging it gently through the furry coat of James' niffler. "All righ' then, I'll leave yeh to it."

And hour and a half later, all fifty nifflers were neatly combed and back in their crates. It was quite enjoyable, actually, and the animals were very cooperative, though occasionally nipping us not so gently when we disturbed a sensitive spot.

"Yeh done?" Hagrid stuck his head through the window. "Come in for a cuppa?"

"No thanks Hagrid," I called, my eyes nearly drooping with exhaust; it was nearing midnight and the temperature was frigid. "Some other time, maybe."

He looked disappointed but otherwise waved cheerily as we trooped back to the castle. A huge yawn escaped me and I tripped over my own two feet.

"You're tired, aren't you," James observed.

"No, I'm nearly bursting with energy," I tried to make my voice snappy but it came out weak and blurred. My head dropped onto his shoulder and unsuccessfully I tried to keep my eyes open.

"Whatever, Lily," I could practically hear the roll of his eyes. "Here, let me carry you."

"No," I protested weakly. "I can walk."

"No you can't Lily, you're dead on your feet." He swung me up, just like how he had the night when he showed me the igloos. Automatically my arms found his neck and I let him carry me back to the castle, just like how my father used to carry me and Tuney when we were younger. I settled down and closed my eyes, relaxing my body. Just when I was about to dive fully into the blessed realms of sleep, James gently set me down. I held back a choice word and rubbed my eyes. We were at the foot of the girls' staircase.

"Oh damn," I moaned. "I don't want to face them."

"I doubt they'd be up at this time,"

"But I'll have to face them tomorrow."

"Lily, you can't hide from them forever, you know."

"Well duh! Of course I can't. That doesn't stop me from wishing, though, does it?"

"Forget it. I can't even win an argument with you when you're half-asleep."

"Mmm."

"Do you still not want to go up there?"

"Not at all."

"You're sure?"

"Yes." My mind was becoming terribly muddled and I could barely get out complete sentences.

"Okay. Wait here,"

"Where're you going?" I didn't want to wait by the dark stairs, where every shadow looked terribly sinister. _Oh Merlin,_ I thought. _I'm afraid of the dark._

"To get your stuff," He quietly Transfigured a ladder again and levitated it to the top of the stairs. I closed my eyes again and tried to breathe evenly while attempting to banish the images of rather disturbing things from my mind. Thankfully, James was pretty fast. He climbed down, clutching my bag with everything I need for class in there and Transfigured the ladder back into an armchair again.

"Did you wake anyone?"

"Oh please. I'm James Potter," He bragged.

"So you tripped over flat ground and unwittingly hit Mary on the face then kicked Marlene then head-butted Alice and fell on top of Dorcas?" I asked. He stuck out his tongue. "Wait, why did you get my stuff? Are we going anywhere?"

"Yes, Lily, we're about to embark on a dangerous journey to one of the Marauders' golden nuggets of information."

"Which is?"

"You'll see. Now, do you want me to carry you again?"

"I'm good."

We silently traipsed out the common room and left the Fat Lady grumbling behind us. He led the way up to the seventh floor and stopped at an extremely ugly carpet depicting several trolls trying to do ballet. "James, I swear if you dragged me all the way up here to kill my eyes—" I warned.

"Geez Lily, calm down!" He started pacing in front a stretch of blank wall, muttering to himself. _That's it,_ I thought. _He's lost it. _

"Aha!" He cried as a door materialized from the blank wall. I stared. He grinned. "There you go, Lily. This is what I dragged you all the way up here for."

Hesitantly, I turned the handle and opened the door. And stared some more. Inside were two large, comfortable-looking four-posters and two bathrooms. It looked every bit as cozy as my dormitory, maybe even better.

"Wow James. I'm not sure if I ever have the right to call you a stupid prat again," I said, stepping onto the soft carpet.

"I didn't do this, it's the Room of Requirement," He said, dropping my bag at the foot of one bed.

"The _what?_"

"Room of Requirement," Then, upon seeing my blank expression, added rather haughtily, "You really need to be educated the Marauders' way, you know."

"So what's this Room of Requirement do?"

"It basically turns into anything you want it to turn into, all you need to do is walk three times past the wall and think really hard of what you need for it to take the shape of," James explained. From how fast the door had appeared, I had a feeling that this wasn't the first time he had used this room.

"This is brilliant," I breathed. "How'd you come across this?"

"I don't think it's my place to tell," James smirked. "If you really want to know, ask Sirius."

"I don't think I want to, if it involves Sirius," I muttered. "That bloke's nothing but trouble."

"Too true." James agreed. "Too true."


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

I rubbed my eyes and yawned. For some reason, my bed seemed softer than usual. I opened my eyes and immediately jumped. Instead of peering at my Gryffindor dorm room, I was looking at an elegant hotel-like room, and James Potter was passed out on another bed across from mine. Memories came rushing back.

_That seems to happen a lot lately,_ I reflected, yawning and getting out of bed. I had slept in my jeans and jacket and my hair was a stringy mess.

"I wish I had a hairbrush," I muttered to myself, tugging my fingers through the thick tangle. "Oh well. One bad hair day won't kill me." I glanced up to check the time but couldn't find where the clock was. With great difficulty—and annoyance on my part—I located it to be behind a plastic purple comb, hanging beside the post of James' bed. It was only five minutes past eight, which gives me plenty of time to shower and eat breakfast. I made my way to the clock and took it down from its nail, looking for another place to hang it. My elbow bumped something and it fell on top of my foot, its sharp teeth briefly stinging my flesh.

"Dammit," I cursed and bent down to pick up the offending object, the purple comb. "Wait. A comb," I said in realization. "Wow. This room is amazing."

"Yes, it is," A voice said behind me. I jumped and dropped the comb again. James stood there grinning at me, his hair messy as always, but in a good way. _Did I just think James Potter's hair looked good? What the hell is happening to me?_

"Don't _do_ that to me, James," I gasped. "You scared the living daylights out of me."

"You've got daylights in you?" He asked curiously. I groaned.

"Go away. I'm going to shower."

"Mind if I join you?"

"JAMES!"

"Joking, Lils."

* * *

><p>"Can we go get something to eat in the kitchens?" I asked James while toweling my hair dry. "I don't want to go down to breakfast."<p>

He sighed—since when did _he_ sigh at _me_?—and rolled his eyes. "Fine, Lily. But you really _can't_ hide from them forever."

"You told me that last night," I reminded him. "And it's not forever, just now. When the prank's done, then this is done."

He sighed again. I grabbed his arm and dragged him down to the kitchens.

* * *

><p>"I didn't know that you knew about the kitchens," James mumbled with his mouth full.<p>

"Practically everyone knows about it, James." I informed him, picking up a chocolate éclair. "And please chew with your mouth closed. I could do without food chunks flying at me, you know."

He scowled. "They're not _flying_—"

A piece of blueberry muffin flew out. "Oh?" I asked, repulsed.

"—they're _soaring,_" He finished with a grin. I threw some cereal at him. "Hey, hey, hey, watch it, Evans. This face is priceless."

"Yes," I agreed, smirking. "As in no one wants to pay a Knut for it."

"Oh?" he mocked. "Are you just saying that, Evans?"

_ And now's one of those times that I hate him the most_, I thought rather placidly to myself. "Oh yes. Absolutely worthless."

"You're mean," He pouted.

"Only to you,"

"Gee, thanks. That really helped."

"Because I'm such a helpful person."

"As well as beautiful, smart, talented—"

Actually, never mind. I can survive his arrogance. It's his sappiness that I can't.

"Doesn't smart and talented mean the same thing?"

"Not necessarily," he countered, starting on his fifth cinnamon bun.

"And how would that be?"

"All right. So. James is smart—"

I snorted at that.

"—But Lily is talented."

"That explains next to nothing."

"Fine. Lily talented but she needs James to explain the meaning of 'smart' and 'talented' to her. Therefore, she's not smart."

"…..No effing comment."

"You just did."

"You're really annoying, you know that, right?"

"I've been called that before," He agreed.

"And I sort of dislike you."

"Well, that's new. Normally it goes along the lines of 'I absolutely despise you, you stupid, arrogant, prat'."

"True. But I dislike you as well."

"Great."

"Let's get out of here."

"Okay."

* * *

><p>"What to do?" I moaned. It was the first Sunday since first year that I didn't have anything to do. Of course, my other Sundays were spent with my best friends on the grounds, not holed up in a magical room with James Potter.<p>

"What do you want to do?" He asked, not looking up.

"That's just it, I don't know! I've done all my homework, even the one that Sprout assigned due next Monday," I admitted sheepishly. James looked up this time, and rather incredulously so.

"I should probably get used to it," He sighed. "What with Remus and you and everything."

"But what should I do now?" I whined.

"I don't know, Lily."

"What do you usually do when you're bored?"

"I'm never bored."

"Just answer my question."

"Well, I always have Sirius around, and that always solves my boredom."

"Answer. The. Question."

"I play Quidditch,"

"No way," I said automatically.

"I plan pranks," He tried again.

"We already have everything done anyway."

"And I play games with Sirius." He shrugged. "That's about it."

"What kind of games?" That's how desperate I am.

"Er….truth or dare."

"Oh. That." I wrinkled my nose.

"Yeah, that."

"Well, let's give it a try."

"Are you serious?" James was startled by my choice. I was too. And scared for the outcome.

"No, I'm Lily, remember?" I said with a half-smile.

"You really are bored," He remarked." Okay Lily. Truth or dare?"

"Wait! No….outlandish dares or truths please." I glared.

"Fine. Truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"What is your favorite color?"

"Blue. Truth or dare, James?"

"Truth."

"What's _your_ favorite color?"

"Easy," He laughed. "The color of your eyes. Truth or dare?"

I ignored the first statement. "Dare."

"I dare you to—"

"Say 'kiss me' and I'll cripple you," I warned.

"—go on a broom ride with me."

"I haven't got a broom though."

"But this room can give us one. I wish for a broom," James said out loud. A Nimbus 1000 appeared in front of us. James opened a window and waited. I eyed the thing uncertainly.

"Oh, come on, Lily. Would I let you fall?" He scoffed. I shook my head. "Exactly."

"Fine," I sighed. "I am so going to kill you after we get back."

* * *

><p>"JAMES POTTER!" I screeched. "I HATE YOU!"<p>

"Calm down, Lily!" He yelled back. "We're perfectly fine!"

"Yes, and perfectly fine means on a thin piece of wood, a few hundred feet above the hard ground, holding onto you, does it?"

"In my case, yes," He turned to grin at me. I screamed.

"Keep your eyes on what's in front of you! What if we crashed into that pole right there?"

"That's not a pole, Lily. That was a bird." He told me. I drew in a shaky breath.

"How do you people stand this?" I moaned.

"I was born riding a broom, that's how I stand it."

"And I was born reading a book. That's how I hate this."

"Lily," He sighed. "Just try to enjoy this. For me."

"Another reason to not enjoy it, then."

"We can bicker when we get back. Right now, just relax."

"Easy for you," I grumbled.

"Don't you think this is the best, Lily? We're looking down at all of Hogwarts, with the fresh air around us, and you have your arms around my waist, what could honestly be better?"

"Everything."

"Forget it," he sighed again. "You're impossible."

We stayed stationary for a while, just floating there. Eventually, my death grip around James eased, and I could actually admire the scenery. He's right, I realized. The people of Hogwarts were so small, so insignificant. The Forbidden Forest was just a patch of dark, bristly sticks. The lake was a small black puddle, with a miniature tentacle occasionally reaching out of it. The wind was not cold, but mildly cooling. I looked around. This truly _was_ the best. But I wasn't about to tell James that and let him have the satisfaction of being right.

"Can we go now?" I faked a bored voice.

"Yeah," I could tell he was hurt that I didn't like what he called the best thing in the world.

We landed in the Room of Requirements and set the broom down. I looked wistfully out the window; already, I was thinking about the sharp, wintry air and the next time I'll be able to experience that. Unfortunately, he caught the look and a small smirk formed at the corner of his mouth.

"Truth or dare, James?" I asked.

"Dare."

"I dare you to kiss Marlene," I smirked. "After the prank."

"But Sirius will kill me!" he protested.

"That's the point," I told him cheerfully. "Besides, I went on a broomstick ride with you. The least you could do is to obey my dare."

"Fine," He groaned. "Only for you, Lily. Now. Truth or dare?"

"Truth." I didn't want to have to do a revenge dare.

"Tell me whether you liked the broom ride," His small smirk became a full-blown one.

"Dammit. Yes, I did, actually," I admitted. He beamed.

"I told you it'll be amazing!"

"Actually, you said no such thing," I reminded him. He stuck out his tongue at me.

"Whatever. Point is, you liked the ride!"

"Truth or dare," I sighed.

"Truth," Obviously he wasn't keen on another dare either.

"Since when did you start fancying me?"

"Since….well, practically ever since we met on the train that first time." James recalled.

"You've got to be joking! I was so nasty to you though."

"And since that, when were you _not_ nasty to me?"

"Urgh."

"Truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"Will you ever start to like me back?"

"Seriously? I think if this keeps up, then very soon."

"Really? This is the best day of my life!" He yelled, dancing around the room. I laughed.

"Don't get your hopes up though," I warned. "I'm a very versatile person."

"I know," He said happily. "And I love you for that."

"Whatever. Truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"Why are you so mean to Severus?"

"Do I really have to answer?"

"Yes," I said determinedly.

"Other than the facts the he's such a Dark Arts lover and that he's never heard of shampoo, he's got you." James was red now. I, however, understood.

"You mean, I talk to him and I hex you?"

"Yeah. I know, it's a stupid reason to hate someone, but…"

"Maybe someday, you'll see the good side of him," I said gently.

"Maybe," He said dubiously. "For now, truth or dare?"


	13. Chapter 13

**AN: I am a terrible person for not updating in so long. I had a terrible writer's block on this story and took it out on my other Lily and James story, but now I'm back! Without further ado, here is Chapter Thirteen, documenting Lily and the Marauders' fourth year :)**

**~InventorOfFirebolt**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Thirteen<strong>

The nightmare came back.

_Lily was at her parents' house, its familiar demeanor beckoning her. Blinking, she looked around. It was summer, she suspected, because of the shining sun and greenery around her. Lily set off at a small jog, eager to see her family again, even Tuney. In all her enthusiasm, she did not notice that somewhere, somewhere deep and dark and shadowy in her being, a premonition, if you will, was trying to a get a vague message across. Instead, she ignored it and reached the front door in a few strides. The front door was open._

_"Mum?" Lily called out. "Dad? Petunia?" _

_Her calls were unheeded, and that forbidding feeling returned, stronger this time. She shook it off and peered into the kitchen. Empty. Next, the living room. No luck either. Hands on hips, she considered this. It could be possible that they forgot about her coming home today, and went out somewhere, though that was not likely. Or they were hiding somewhere, waiting to surprise the living daylights out of her; that was a more probable guess. Hesitantly, Lily stepped into her sister's room, the first one down the long hall. It was neat as always, but with a slightly lonely feeling to it this time. The bed was made, the carpet was clean, and the closet doors were closed properly. _Typical Tuney_, she thought smiling, wanting everything organized. She was the type that would freak if there was a single speck of dust anywhere in her room. So why was Lily getting such a bad feeling about this? She shook it off and decided to go into her room next. Opening the door, she saw nothing out of the ordinary. All her Muggle things where they should be. The bed was made as well, and the dresser was free of any dust that would've collected in her absence. _Must've been Petunia,_ she thought with a rush of gratitude. Or maybe she did that because she can't stand to see anything unclean, even her freak of a sister's room. Lily decided to not dwell on that and stepped back out. The last room on the left was her parents' room. This door, however, was locked. Not thrown, she pulled out her wand and unlocked it by magic. A distinct, pungent smell hit her nose. She coughed a bit, and pulled her sleeve over her nose, deeply inhaling the cottony smell. Mentally preparing herself, Lily took another step further into the room. The thick curtains were drawn closed, but the bright sunlight managed to creep in through the bit of windowpane that was peeking out. She could just barely make out the bed, the dresser, the adjoining bathroom, and her parents' Muggle television. _

_After searching the bedroom and finding no one, Lily stuck her head into the bathroom. Everything, from the dark blue toothbrush of her father's to the light lilac bath towel of her mother's, was exactly as Lily remembered it. But there was one thing that she didn't bargain for. In the normally-gleaming bathtub, a dark pool of blood was leaking slowly down the drain. Both her brain and body froze, not sure what she was seeing. This was no prank. Immediately, all her ill-bidden feelings returned. Tuney's room was _too_ neat, almost as if she hadn't resided in it for a bit of time. Her own room, as well. Grabbing the doorknob to steady herself, Lily sorted through the horrified haze and decided what she needed to do. Clenching her teeth, she shakily backed out of the room and sprinted down the hall to hers. Quickly, she found a flashlight. Then Lily advanced to the basement, hyper-conscious of the way her footsteps echoed around the empty house. Gripping her wand in one hand, the flashlight in the other, she swallowed and opened the door. Switching on the dim lights, she gingerly put one foot on the first step. Another foot. A few seconds later, when it was apparent that she was not going to fall to her death, Lily proceeded with slightly more confidence. She was making good progress, on the fifth step, when she saw a bloodless face. It stared with glassy, dead eyes, open yet unseeing. She dropped the flashlight and the ancient lights of her basement decided to give out at that exact time. Total darkness enveloped her. She thought about the white face, the dark voids that were the eyes. The horror finally caught with her and she screamed._

I woke up, with beads of sweat literally streaming down my forehead. I was back in the Room of Requirements, and James was sleeping soundly in the other bed. My pillowcase was soaked and my blankets suddenly seemed too hot, too confining. I took a few deep breaths to calm my racing heart, then collapsed on the bed and fell into a restless sleep. Phantoms haunted the realms of my dreams. Phantoms of the mangled bodies of my mother and father.

* * *

><p>"James Potter!" I hissed, roughly shaking his shoulder. "Get up, you dunce!"<p>

"Umm…" He mumbled, drooling a bit at the corners of his mouth but making no attempt to get up. I sighed, grabbing my wand.

"James, if you don't get up in the next thirty seconds then I'm just going to wave this thin piece of wood around and say some pain-causing words," I warned, wielding the 'thin piece of wood' like a sword. He rubbed his eyes blearily, cracking open one eye and peering up at me.

"Why, hello, Lily," He said with a sleepy grin. "You look beautiful today."

"Why, hello, Potter," I replied. "Ten more seconds left."

"Huh?"

"Nine, eight, seven—" I prodded him with my wand while counting down the seconds. His eyes widened as that miniscule brain of his fully absorbed the information and he scrambled out of the bed. "About time," I sighed, climbing down. "Now get a move on or we'll be late."

Ten minutes later, a very harassed James and an incredibly irritated me exited the Room of Requirements, and much to my disappointment, headed down to the Great Hall for breakfast. Heads turned and mouths gossiped as James and I stepped in together and I did my best to ignore it. Picking a spot far, far away from our friends, I sat down and started eating breakfast like I did every morning for the past four years. But the students of Hogwarts weren't going to let me off the hook that easily. I could feel eyes on the back of my neck and the flurry of hissed exchanges.

"—heard that they weren't in their dorms this entire weekend—"

"—that little bitch is going to pay—"

"—stole my man away, she did—"

"You know, talking about someone behind their back is really pretty rude," I remarked loudly. "But it gets rather funny when that said person can hear you."

With that, everyone shut up.

* * *

><p>"Merlin," I groaned, flopping onto my bed in the Room of Requirements. "I honestly hate my life right now."<p>

"Tell me about it," James muttered.

"I really should've just listened to you and went up to my dorm, shouldn't I?" I sighed, propping myself up on my elbows. "It would've saved all this load of bull."

"A bit late to realize that now, don't you think?" James snapped, making me jump. It's usually me who snaps at him, not the other way around.

"Yep," I beat my pillow with one hand. "Proves that there's actually something up in that head of yours."

"Not helping, Lily," He growled. I glanced at him. He was lying on his back, with his Charms textbook over his head. I frowned.

"Not a sufficient way of using your book, James," I said, lifting it off. "Try actually reading it."

His eyes glared up at me. "Lily, now isn't really the best time to lay on the sarcasm."

"Sorry," I apologized. He's had a rough day; I probably shouldn't grate on his nerves more. But being Lily Evans, I couldn't resist one more jab. "Wake me up when Your Majesty deem the time right for sarcasm."

I thought I heard him grind his teeth as I made my way to the table. Smiling to myself, I pulled some parchment and ink towards me. Some things never change.

* * *

><p>"There is no way I'm going down to the Great Hall for dinner," James announced. I glanced up, annoyed. He made me lose my place in the tedious History of Magic chapter that I was reading.<p>

"Why don't we just go down to the kitchens, then?" I suggested. "It'll save both of us a lot of misery."

"Well, no duh, the kitchens. But we need to get the prank going on as well. I don't know about you, but I'm getting pretty sick of being holed up here."

"So what do you suppose we do then?" I sighed, giving up on doing homework.

"I suppose that we start the prank, according to plan."

"Oh, Merlin help me."

* * *

><p>I reached out a hand and tickled the pear on the rug. Wincing at its shrill giggle, me and James stepped into the kitchens. Immediately, we were surrounded by elves, their heads barely reaching my waist.<p>

"What can we get for you, dear sir and lady?" a particularly short one squeaked. "Would Master Potter like anything? Firewhiskey, perhaps?"

I shot James a glare. "No thank you, er…"

"Emmi, kind miss," she chirped.

"Right, Emmi. Don't ever give this boy or his friends firewhiskey ever again, yeah?" James looked as if Christmas was cancelled. I ignored him. Emmi nodded uncertainly.

"Anyway," James stretched the word into five syllables, all the while scowling at me. "We need a special favor, Emmi. We need you and the other elves to put some Sleeping Powder in these eight Gryffindors' food tonight…."

* * *

><p><em>Back in the Gryffindor Tower…..<em>

"Oi, Moony!" Sirius called across the room, balancing Marlene on his lap. "Is that essay in Potions due tomorrow?"

Remus frowned at his loud voice, looking up from his books. "Yes, it is, actually. He announced about two weeks ago. And speaking of that, have any of you seen mine?"

"No," Peter moaned. "Not another essay! I haven't even finished the last one yet!" Everyone ignored him.

"I'm going to bed now, Sirius," Marlene gave her boyfriend a kiss. Remus jerked up his book just in time to protect his eyes and Peter gave a muffled squeak.

"Love ya, babe," Sirius winked. Marlene rolled her eyes and waved goodbye to the boys.

"Now really." Remus said, emerging from his book. "I need to find that essay."

"And I need sleep," Peter yawned, stretching. Sirius made a face against the smell that was issuing from his armpits.

"Pete, when was the last time you took a bath?" He grimaced. Peter looked hurt.

"Yesterday!" He exclaimed in an offended voice. "Honest!"

"People don't smell like dung after one day, Pete," Remus sighed.

"That's odd. Normally it takes a week for me to end up smelling like this," remarked Peter and headed up the boys' staircase.

Sirius and Remus turned to each other with distinct horror clear in their eyes.

"A _week?_" Sirius sounded repulsed. "We share a dorm with a bloke who showers _once a week?_"

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, in the girls' dorm, a rather morose silence surrounded its inhabitants.<p>

"It's the third night in a row that Lily hasn't come back," Mary said finally.

"Should we apologize?" Dorcas asked in a small voice. "This is more serious than I thought. Don't you make that pun, Marlene!" She warned as her friend opened her mouth. "We have it enough with Black doing it himself; we don't need you to join in as well."

Marlene closed her mouth and said nothing.

"Dorcas is right," Alice agreed, glumly fluffing up her pillow. "I'm really sort of starting to think we've gone too far."

"She doesn't go to the Great Hall to eat anymore. I didn't see her at dinner." Mary said sadly. "She's never been this mad at anyone before,"

"Except James," Dorcas pointed out. Marlene snorted.

"Sirius told me that James wasn't in their dorms either this past weekend. If anything, Lily's probably with him."

Alice's eyes grew as round as saucers. "You don't think they—"

"ALICE!" Everyone yelled.

"Where did your lovely innocence go, Al?" Dorcas shook her head.

"She hasn't got any to begin with," Mary joked. She paid dearly for that remark as a pillow came sailing her way and nailed her rather painfully in the face. "OI!"

"Oh, Alli," Marlene laughed. "You know it's true."

"At least she's not thinking dirty thoughts about Frank," Dorcas amended. "_That_ would be truly terrifying."

Alice flushed a bright red. "You guys are mean," She said shrilly, pulling her covers over her head. A second later she came back up. "Mary, kindly give back my pillow please."

"You threw it at me in the first place!" Mary protested.

"Back to Lily," Dorcas steered everyone back on track. "What do you think we should do?"

"She'll come around," Marlene said firmly, ignoring the nagging suspicion at the back of her mind. She was one that did most of the teasing, after all. "Now, where did my jeans go?"

"Which pair?" Mary rolled her eyes. Marlene didn't notice the sarcasm in her voice.

"The pair with the words 'Proud Gryffindor' on the back pockets," She said distractedly. "Or was it the pair that said, 'Ride a Quidditch player, not a broomstick'?"

Dorcas nearly choked on her water. "WHAT?"

Marlene shrugged. "Sirius gave them to me. I think it's pretty cool, don't you?"

"Marlene McKinnon, you disgust me," Dorcas muttered. She climbed into bed. Mary followed suit, leaving Marlene to forage around to room for her missing jeans. Little did she know, she won't be getting it back anytime soon. Or, more accurately, not exactly the way that she'd like them to be, anyway. None of them knew it yet, but something epic is about to happen.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen**

"You've got everything?" James asked. I checked over my bag; everything was in place. "Right. Let's go then."

We trooped silently to the Gryffindor Tower, meeting no impediments on the way. Luck seemed to be on our side tonight. Or perhaps it's because no one's mental enough to be up at this godforsaken time of two o'clock in the morning. The Fat Lady was, well, she looked like she would love to tear off our heads when we woke her up. But Merlin bless her, she swung forward anyway, threatening to not let us in next time. We apologized profusely and she seemed placated. Once inside, I glanced sideways at James, but saw an armchair where his stomach should've been. I nodded; the Disillusion Charm we'd cast on ourselves had held so far.

"Ready?" he whispered to me. "An hour at the most, then we meet back here, yeah?"

I nodded, afraid to speak. _This is mental,_ I thought as I pushed open the girls' dormitory door. But what needs to be done has to be done. Taking a deep breath, I walked in.

There was no noise from within, most likely because we had ordered the elves to plant a _really_ strong Sleeping Powder in our friends' dinners. Shrugging off my pack, I set to work, relishing their reactions next morning. _James really had everything thought out,_ I reflected to myself as I cast an activation spell on the Darkness Powder. _And I used to think he was a brainless idiot._

Just barely reaching the hour limit, I stood back and examined my handiwork. It was pretty impressive, if I may say so myself. Smiling a bit, I grabbed my now substantially lighter bag and headed out to meet James.

"All done?" He asked quietly.

"All done." I confirmed, grinning.

* * *

><p>Sirius thought it was awfully dark in the dormitory. Cautiously getting out of bed, he felt his bedside table for his clock and came up empty. Shrugging, he got up and padded to the window. Just as he was about to pull the curtain open, something heavy fell on top of his head and knocked him out, cold.<p>

* * *

><p>Marlene sighed deeply, gently tugging free of her dream. <em>Must be time to get up,<em> she thought sluggishly, dragging her body out of bed. Opening her eyes, a wave of unexpected darkness loomed out at her, and she stumbled back, knocking her head on a bed post. "OW!"

* * *

><p>A resonating crash echoed through the boys' dorm as Sirius fell down, bringing Peter's water jug with him. Remus' eyes snapped open. He sat up slowly and rubbed his eyes, then passed a hand in front of his face. For the first time, he came to fully understand why people always used the phrase 'can't see my own hand in front of my nose'. Gingerly, he set a foot down and felt something squishy and soft under his foot. A feeble groan was the response. Eyes wide, Remus got down on his knees by the bed.<p>

"Sirius," he whispered. "Are you all right?"

* * *

><p>"Marlene?" Alice asked groggily, peering down at her friend. Or, tried to peer down at her. Everything was so dark that she could only tell it was the blonde by her voice. "Why are you attacking my bedpost?"<p>

* * *

><p>Sirius groaned again, feeling a lump at the side of his head. Remus knelt by him, squinting fruitlessly.<p>

"What happened, Sirius?" he whispered, fingers stretched out in front of him like a zombie, feeling for his bedside table. His hand closed around the handle of his water jug and hastily, Remus dribbled a bit of water into his friend's open mouth. Sirius choked and spluttered, evidently not expecting the water which obviously went down the wrong pipe. Remus hoisted him up, accidentally banging his right hand on the bottom of a drawer. Sirius croaked in pain. Once upright, Remus pounded him on the back until he could properly breathe again.

"What happened, mate?"

"Something fell."

* * *

><p>"I wasn't attacking your bedpost!" Marlene protested in a whisper. "I tripped and knocked my head against it."<p>

"Yes, speaking of that," The voice of Dorcas sounded from a bed next to Alice. "Why is it so bloody dark in here?"

"I wish I knew, Dor. What time is it?"

"Um, hang on." There was a brief period of rustling as Alice searched for a watch. "Damn. I don't know where my watch went."

"Marlene? How about you?" Dorcas asked.

"Well if I knew I wouldn't be asking you guys in the first place, would I?"

"With you, we never know."

* * *

><p>"Remus?" A terrified squeak came from the left side of the dorm. "What's going on?"<p>

"Sirius tripped and fell, apparently."

"No! Something fell!"

"Yeah._ You_ did."

"I meant, something fell on top of me, you dunderhead."

"Oh," Peter said.

"Watch it, Black!" Remus didn't take too kindly to being called a dunderhead.

"Sorry, Moony."

* * *

><p>"Should we wake Mary up?" Dorcas wondered.<p>

"No need," Mary grumbled. "I'm already awake. Next time something like this happens, please take care to not blunder around like a band of bumbling, babbling baboons, yeah?"

"Wow, Mary," Marlene said, impressed. "Getting poetic, are we?"

Mary glared in the direction of her voice. "It was supposed to be offensive, Mar."

"Oh Mary," Alice joked. "You're much too mellow to insult anyone properly."

"I know." She sighed. "Now, let's try and figure out what's happening, shall we?"

* * *

><p>"Let's try opening the curtain," Peter suggested. Sirius rolled his eyes.<p>

"That's what I did, Peter. And I've got the lump on my head to prove that it was a bad idea."

"Maybe the curtain just doesn't like you," Remus teased.

"Well, then, curtains' man." Sirius snapped. "Why don't you try it then, if you're so smooth around curtains?"

"I will." Remus strode to the window and tugged on the fabric. The second his hand made contact, something fell on top of him as well, completely with a sickening crunch.

"Ouch," Remus muttered weakly.

"I rest my point." Sirius said smugly.

* * *

><p>"Before you ask, Mary, we don't know why it's so dark in here. We don't know what time it is. And we don't know why it's so dark in here." Marlene said before Mary had even opened her mouth.<p>

"You said 'we don't know why it's so dark in here' twice." Dorcas pointed out helpfully. Marlene turned to her, hands on hips.

"I was emphasizing my point, Dorcas, that we don't know why it's so dark in here."

"Oh. I thought you were trying to sound dumb."

* * *

><p>"So what should we do?" Peter asked. Remus was spread-eagled on his bed, recovering from whatever had fallen on his head.<p>

"When in doubt, go ask your girlfriend." Sirius got out of bed and carefully walked to what he thought was the door. He walked face-first into a wall. Changing directions, he felt the air around his, searching for a doorknob. His hands fell on something smooth and round. "Aha," He said triumphantly and twisted it. A thick, dark wave of scurrying, slimy things showered down on him.

"ARGH!"

* * *

><p>"Want to go see if the boys are having the same problem?" Marlene asked finally.<p>

"What're you going to do? Jump on Sirius and cuddle with him?" Dorcas rolled her eyes.

"Actually, yes, I was." Marlene sniffed. "And Mary, you can cuddle with Remus. Alice, you can cuddle Frank. And Dor, well. There's always Peter."

"Forget I said anything." Dorcas sighed.

"So, want to give it a try?" Marlene asked the girls at large.

"Why not?" Alice tried to sound casual, but failed miserably.

"Right. Anyone know where the door is?"

* * *

><p>"ARGH!" Sirius screamed, scratching at his eyes, nose and ears. Remus' head jerked up at the sound, then moaned as blood rushed to his brain.<p>

"What happened?" Peter sounded absolutely petrified.

"Bloody—goddammit—stupid spiders—" Sirius sputtered. More spiders poured into his mouth. More profanity flew out; more spiders went in. It was too much. Remus leaned over the side of his bed and retched.

* * *

><p>"Wait!" Mary whispered loudly. "We've got wands!"<p>

"Wha—? Oh yeah. Wands." Marlene blindly groped for hers, and came up empty. "Dammit, must've fallen down. Can someone else get their wand?"

"Nope. I can't find it either." Alice said, though no one was surprised at that. Alice was known for her infamously bad memory.

"I swear I'd left it right there!" Dorcas yelled hysterically.

"I think I might've put it somewhere…" Mary fumbled around. "Sorry, guys. No luck."

"Whatever. Back to the old-fashioned way."

* * *

><p>Back at the boys' dorm, pandemonium ruled. Peter was running back and forth between Remus and Sirius, though doing more damage than help.<p>

"Here, drink some water, Remus," He squeaked, dumping an entire pitcher of water into his mouth. That made Remus vomit even harder. Peter ran to Sirius to escape the incoming wave and tried to shove what was left of the water down Sirius' throat. It didn't bode well with the spiders, who just picked up their pace and crawled faster into the mouth.

"PETER!" Sirius roared through the spiders. Peter stumbled backwards in shock and slipped on Remus' puke and performed an impressive backflip, to have his entire face coated into more puke as he fell. Managing to stand up, Sirius squashed most of the spiders as he blundered back to his bed. Then he too, emptied his stomach of its contents before collapsing onto the covers.

"Never again," He muttered shakily. "I hate spiders."

* * *

><p>"ARGH!" Marlene mimicked her boyfriend's cry as she twisted the doorknob. She felt a lot of small, hard pellets hit the top of her head. They were raining down like hailstones. Covering her face and neck with her arms, Marlene ran for her life.<p>

Or, more accurately, she ran for her hair. Having her tresses harassed like this simply will not do. Diving for the bed, she left behind the pellets and met another obstacle face-on—literally. In her wild lunge for the bed, she had miscalculated the distance and smashed straight into the ground. Marlene had enough time to form one coherent thought: carpet tastes awful. Then she blacked out.

* * *

><p>In the Room of Requirements, Lily and James sat together on the bed, watching the live feed straight from a monitor. James, being a pureblood, was fascinated by the piece of technology. Finally, Lily wretched it away from him and tuned it in, to watch her friends suffer for what they had caused.<p>

"That," Lily said finally, looking up. "Was amazing."

"Yes, yes it was." James grinned. "And don't forget who planned all that."

"Oh James, you're making me blush," Lily teased, laughing at the confounded expression on James' face. "Right. We should probably get some sleep."

"Yeah," James agreed. "Get ready for tomorrow."

"Oh yes," Lily smiled devilishly. "They're gonna love tomorrow."


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen**

"Are they here yet?" James hissed, peering over my shoulder. I clenched my teeth; it was his fifteenth time asking that. And for the fifteenth time, I replied,

"No, they're not! And having you breathing down my neck isn't going to make them come any faster!"

_And_, for the fifteenth time, he withdrew and sulked in a corner. We were disguised with the Disillusion Charm again and were skulking in an empty corridor, watching the first rays of sunshine filter in through the windows. I watched the monitor screen, waiting for our friends to show up in order to deliver the last round of pranks that we had planned. James muttered to himself, pacing back and forth. I fought down the urge to whack him with my monitor. _There will be plenty of time for that later,_ I told myself. _And he's your only ally in this, so you need to put up with him, whether you like it or not._ I sighed and closed my eyes, slumping against the corridor wall. _Sleep, _I thought blurrily. _Need…sleep….._

"Lily!" James stopped pacing. "Lily, what's happening?" he glanced down at the monitor screen, where eight red dots were flashing. My eyes flew open and all longings of sleep were banished immediately. The dots were our friends, who were _finally_ making their way down to the Great Hall. With a smile, I beckoned to James.

"It's time. Let's go."

Stealthily, we crept out of the corridor and into the Great Hall, where the students of Hogwarts were sleepily seated, waiting for the owl post and eating breakfast like any other normal day. Soon, though, they'll find out that there was nothing normal about what's coming next.

My eyes narrowed as I spotted Marlene and Mary. Alice trailed a little ways behind, talking to Frank with a bored Dorcas at her side. Sirius and Remus looked pale-faced, and Peter was his usual jumpy self.

"I hoped they enjoyed last night," I remarked quietly to James, who grinned in response. "Right, let's go."

Careful to not brush up against anybody, I pulled out my wand, and whispered the spell. I turned to James, a grin on my face. It was done. Now the show truly begins.

_**BOOM!**_

A giant rainbow explosion broke out over their table, sending dishes and goblets flying. Emerging from the colorful smoke was an unsightly crowd of black crows, cawing their baleful song.

"_Oppugno_!" James hissed. The birds turned and bomb-dived our friends, pecking them with sharp beaks and raking them with their scaly claws. I winced; it looked painful, but James had assured me it was nothing permanent. Sure enough, they soon disintegrated, leaving behind piles of dark ashes that were once feathers. From the ashes, tiny, scurrying spiders grew, just like the ones we planted in their dorms last night. Marlene screeched and slapped at them, horror evident in her face. Sirius was sick, right there and then. Then the eight-legged creatures were gone, and Marlene collapsed against the table, wiping her forehead. But it wasn't over yet. I flicked my wand, and a pile of honey pooled in Marlene's long blonde locks. She screamed and tried to wring out her ponytail, but only succeeded in gluing her hands into the sticky mixture as well. Sirius was pushed facedown into his own sick by a giant, invisible boot, and then mercilessly whacked with Muggle feather dusters. The others had fared better, but by only a bit. Remus was nursing a huge bump on his head where a feather duster had gotten a bit uncontrolled; Mary was trying to wipe Marlene's honey off of the hem of her robes while covering the giant boils that had appeared all over he body; Peter was curled into a tight ball, whimpering quietly, fending off two dusters; Dorcas was sobbing over the charred remains of her prized broomstick (it was a duplicate); and Alice was cowering behind Frank, the only one that our pranks hadn't effected. We weren't that cruel, you know. Frank had nothing to do with it, so naturally we left him alone. But the others….oh my Merlin, this is probably the most pathetic thing I have ever seen in my life. Bruised and beaten, they laid about on the floor, massaging their respective injuries. James prodded me in the ribs and asked silently, _Show ourselves? _I nodded back, confirming, not wanting to take this too far. Together, we cast off our charms and more or less strutted over to our stunned friends and other equally stunned bystanders.

"You," Sirius accused weakly. "You again."

I smiled broadly and picked up one of the many remains of the prank: a pink birthday hat that was the result of the initial explosion. I placed it on his head and smiled at the general effect. "Me," I said. "Me again."

"And me," James interjected, appearing by my shoulder. Sirius turned a tortured eye on him.

"Whatever happened to mates for life?" he croaked.

"Sometimes you gotta abandon your mate for the girl," James grinned at him. I glared at the pair of them then turned to the others.

"Good prank, Lily," Remus mumbled tiredly. "Blimey, last night was _not_ fun."

"Sweet mother of Merlin, Lils," Marlene had finally given up on trying to get her hair untangled. "Isn't this taking revenge a bit too far?"

"Not at all," I told her, unsticking her hair by magic. "Not at all."

"Sorry about what happened that night," Sirius muttered. "And remind me to never get on your bad side ever again."

"You're forgiven," I said to all of them, then together me and James healed their bumps and bruises, then cleaned up the destruction, when applause started out behind us. It was slow, quiet at first, then grew in volume and size, until the entire Hall was cheering for us. Even the Slytherins looked at us with grudging respect. Everyone was laughing over the spectacular prank we had pulled, laughing over the public humiliation of Sirius Black, laughing over the fact that we, James and I, had been behind everything.

All except one. Severus. He was glaring at James like he wanted to vaporize him with his eyes, and with a sinking heart, I realized that I had all but forgotten about our 'date' on Saturday. I made a mental note to talk to him later, and beamed at my disgruntled friends. James' arm slipped around my shoulders and we bowed together, goofy grins etched on our faces, and you know what? I didn't give a damn what other people thought then. That is, until McGonagall fought her way to the front of the student body, a truly terrifying look on her face.

"POTTER! EVANS!" She screamed. "GET DOWN AT ONCE!"

Merlin. Second time in two days. I'm really losing my touch, aren't I?

* * *

><p>"Thank goodness that was over," I sighed as we exited McGonagall's office.<p>

"I thought my eardrums would burst," James winced and rubbed his head.

"Never mind your eardrums now. Didn't you hear her? She's writing to our parents!"

"She is?" James looked alarmed. I nodded slowly. "Might've missed that bit…"

"My parents are Muggles; I'm not too fussed. But your parents are the ones that we have to worry about." That look of alarm has now changed into one of pure terror. "And I'd wager that you're going to get one of those terribly charming red letters soon."

"Bloody hell."

* * *

><p>"Oi! Severus!" I called, running after the small dark figure ahead of me. He halted, and slowly turned to face me, expressionless. I sighed.<p>

"Hi," I said cheerfully.

"Hello, Lily," he responded quietly. "Great show this morning."

"Oh thanks," I smiled at him. "You know how we'd agreed to go to Hogsmeade last Saturday…? I'm so sorry, I completely forgot about it. Want to go this week?"

He seemed to hesitate, but then nodded, and something that resembled a smile formed on his thin lips. I gave him a quick hug and set out for my next class, Charms, waving over my shoulder. I slid into my seat just as the bell rang, and hurriedly unpacked my quill and homework. James grinned at me from across the room, and I saw that he was reunited with the Marauders at their favorite table in the back. I had, instinctively, headed for my usual table, with Marlene, Dorcas, Mary, and Alice. Oh, how good it felt to be finally sitting with my friends again! Smiling to myself, I prepared to take notes on Banishing Charms, with my best friends at my side. Life was good.

* * *

><p>The week passed without incident, not counting the Howler that I had predicted for James, and sooner than I knew, it was Saturday. My 'date' with Severus, I suppose you'd call it.<p>

I stood in front of the mirror, oddly nervous. _It's just Severus_, I scolded myself. Yet this felt strangely like a, well, _date_, though it's not supposed to, at all. I wasn't dressed in anything fancy, just a hoodie and jeans, and most certainly wasn't wearing make-up. I was just plain old me. Sighing, I walked slowly down the staircase out to the main doors, where people were queuing up to go to Hogsmeade. I spotted Alice, Dorcas and Mary; Marlene was going with Sirius. I haven't yet told them about my plans to meet Severus and could only hope that they would react…accordingly. And _accordingly_ ran along the lines of not screaming bloody murder and running away to hex the hell out of Sev. Something like that, at least.

"Hey, Lily," Alice greeted me. "Are you okay?"

I looked at her, surprised. "What makes you think that?" I asked curiously. She shrugged.

"You get that look on your face," She explained. I raised one eyebrow, trying to create a mental image of 'that look' on my face. She hastened to elaborate.

"Like, your eyebrows scrunch up and your mouth kind of twists and—"

"—your eyes are sort of cloudy," James remarked, breaking away from the Marauders and coming towards us. "Why're you upset, Lils?"

I tried to look cheery. "Oh, it's nothing. I'm just going to meet Severus at the Three Broomsticks, is all. See you guys later!"

Thankfully right that that moment, Filch decided that none of the students were smuggling any Dungbombs out of the school—that old fool, what good is Dungbombs outside of school anyway?—and the line began to move. I dashed away, waving backwards at my friends and caught up to sixth year Ravenclaw that I remember from Astronomy.

"Hello," I said. He looked around, startled. I smiled at him. He looked suspiciously back.

"Aren't you Lily Evans?" he asked. "From my Astronomy class?" I grinned, proud that my name had spread around. "The one who finally gave into James Potter?" My smile slid of my face immediately.

"That's right," I said coldly, still haven't completely forgiven my friends for that. I marched away from him and hurried to the front of the line where Sirius and Marlene were.

"Hey Evans," Sirius called and they slowed down for me. "Whatcha doin' today?"

I groaned inwardly. "Nothing, just looking around."

"Ooh, you can come with us!" Marlene offered.

I made a face. "No thanks Mar. I don't really want to watch you two suck each other's face off at Madame Pudifoots."

Marlene looked offended while Sirius just shrugged. "Suit yourself, Evans. You'll be wishing you'd come and watch us snog when you finally realize how amazingly handsome Jamie boy is, pick up a few tips, y'know." He winked. I snorted.

"I'll be going now, thank you very much, Black." Then we were out of the castle, into the bright sunlight of Hogsmeade. I was walking to the Three Broomsticks when the huge belly of Professor Slughorn intercepted me.

"Lily!" He said genially. "What a pleasant surprise to see you here!"

I plastered on my smile reserved for him. "And you, Professor. Been to Honeydukes?" I asked, eyeing the huge box of crystalized pineapples he was holding.

"Indeed, nothing like a few sweets or two—"

_Or fifty_, I thought.

"—to indulge oneself on a day like this," He chuckled. "May I ask where you're going?"

"Um…to meet a friend in the Three Broomsticks," I said. He nodded boisterously.

"Well, I'll be off now, Lily. Don't forget about that dinner party next Friday! You're allowed to bring a date, you know." With a generous wink, he strode off, humming a little tune.

With a sigh of relief, I started walking again, but hadn't gone two paces when I heard someone call my name.

"What?" Annoyed, I whipped around. I was going to be late! It was James, who looked a little taken aback by my harshness. Remus, Peter, and Sirius were with him, the girls trailing a little ways behind.

"LILY MARIE EVANS!" Sirius bellowed. "WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?"

I stared at him, not comprehending. What did I do this time?

"A BLOODY DATE! ALONE! WITH SNIVELLUS! HE COULD HEX YOU WITHOUT ANYONE US KNOWING!" Sirius roared. I sighed, relieved that he didn't find out about my pranks.

"Sirius, calm down—" I tried.

"NO I WILL NOT BLOODY CALM DOWN EVANS! YOU'RE LIKE A SISTER TO ME—" he stopped. "Damn, did I really just say that?"

I rolled my eyes. "I love you too, Black. But Severus is not going to hex me or hurt me," I said firmly. Remus sighed. Peter sneezed. James looked outraged.

"So you'll say that you love him but not me?" He asked, glaring at his best friend. I groaned, clapping my hand to my forehead.

"Can't you all just leave me alone?" I complained, rubbing my temples.

"Nope. We're coming with you," Sirius growled. James nodded. Remus sighed again. Peter blew his nose.

"Fine. You better not ruin this though," I warned.

Sirius grinned. "You know us, Lily. We would never even _dream_ of doing anything like that."

"Definitely not," Remus agreed, grinning. Peter nodded, rubbing his nose.

There was a look in each of their faces that I didn't like. At all.

I sighed. "Let's just go." All five of us walked to the Three Broomsticks, James with his arm around me protectively. I shrugged it off. We were getting closer. And closer. And closer. I could see Sev's dark head through the window. His black eyes narrowed at the sight of the Marauders surrounding me like my own posse of security and I sent him an apologetic look.

We were at the door. With one hand on the handle, I took a deep breath.

_Here goes nothing_, I thought and pulled open the door.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Sooo….I haven't died, no. I haven't been abducted by aliens, either. No, it was my own laziness that caused me to abandon this story for so long. Thank you to all my readersreviewers/subscribers! I will do a better job of updating now that winter break is here! :D Oh, and R&R my other stories please? One of them just hit 300 reviews ;D Okay, done with shameless self-promo. Bye!**

**~Gella**


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen**

"How're you going to one-up the igloos?" Sirius asked James.

"What?"

"Christmas is tomorrow. What can possibly be more impressive than those igloos that we built her?"

"What are you talking about?" James was beginning to lose his patience.

"Lily Evans, mate! What are you getting her for Christmas?"

"Oh! That."

"Yeah, that."

"I'm working on it," James smiled.

* * *

><p>I wasn't in a good mood. And as usual, the source of my bad mood is James Potter. I was still seething over how he had ruined my Hogsmeade Saturday, or lack thereof, with Severus.<p>

_"Hey, Snivelly," Sirius greeted him, plopping into a seat next to me. "Long time no see. Can't say I've missed you." _

_"So we heard you've got yourself a date with Lily," James continued, sitting on my other side. "Care to explain?" _

_"It isn't a date!" I cried. "And get the hell out of here, all of you, before I curse somebody!" _

_"Might as well be Greasy Nose here then," Sirius said nastily. _

_"Get. Out. Now." _

_"We're staying," James' jaw was set. Peter and Remus looked extremely uncomfortable, and I felt a little sorry for them. _

_"Why don't you get us something to drink," I suggested, and their relief was evident from the way they hurried off, and I don't think the butterbeers would be arriving anytime soon. The entire time, Severus had stayed silent while Potter and Black insulted him, but now he spoke up. _

_"It's obvious that I'm not wanted here," his was low. "I'll be going now." _

_"Wait—Sev!" I got to my feet, but in a whirl of his black cloak, he was gone into the bright, bitter cold. "Ugh! You've always got to ruin it for me, don't you?" I snarled, grabbing my scarf and storming out of the pub. _

_"Lily! Wait up!" James called, but I didn't look back. _

_"Let her cool down, mate," I heard Sirius say._

I snorted at memory-Sirius. Cool down? Not likely. I hadn't even gotten the chance to give him his Christmas present. Hell, we hadn't even exchanged two words! I punched my pillow angrily. It was always Potter's fault. And to think I had admitted to him that I was starting to return his feelings—ha! Never, in a million years, would I sink low as to fancy someone like him. Ever.

Sighing to myself, I tied Petunia's present to Tunia's leg and sent her off. Honestly, why do I even bother anymore? She never sends anything in return, and every time, when Tunia comes back, she would give a look, saying _Why the hell would you send me out into that freezing weather, when you know what would happen already?_

"I don't know!" I murmured to myself. "I really don't know."

* * *

><p>"Get up, get up!" An overly-enthusiastic Marlene sang loudly. "Get up, you great radish-head. We've got presents to open!"<p>

"Did you just call me a radish-head?" I asked in mock rage. "Well, guess what, straw-head—"

"Both of you, shut up," mumbled a half-asleep Dorcas. "I've got Quidditch practice in a few hours, let me bloody sleep already."

Marlene, of course, ignored her. "Oh, grouchy old Dor. Don't mind her, guys, carry on! Because it's Christmas and that's all that matters!"

Stifling yawns and swears, we all got up, even Dorcas, and sat in a loose circle on the dormitory floor, ripping open paper and pulling out items.

"Ooh, lookie what Alice got!" Marlene squealed. "It's from Frank!" She held up a silver necklace with a small heart on it. Alice was bright red, but looked secretly delighted. Next to find something from a lover in her stash was Marlene. And of course the giver was Sirius. It was a small box containing a delicate, jeweled clip. I was a bit impressed; who knew someone like that idiot could be so thoughtful when it came to presents? Mary got a book and some perfume from Remus. Dorcas was too busy fawning over the broom-service kit I got her to be jealous of the others and their gifts from their boyfriends. I turned to my own pile: a necklace from Marlene; a book from Mary; a model Quidditch pitch trinket from Dorcas; chocolate from Alice; another book from Remus, Deluxe Sugar Quills from Sirius; a new pencil case from Peter; and a leather-bound notebook from my parents. Nothing from Tuney, as always. Swallowing my sadness, I unwrapped the last parcel at the very bottom of the pile, wondering about its giver. A glimmer of gold greeted my eyes, and my fingers grazed the cold chain of a gold locket.

"Who's that from?" Marlene breathed. I shook my head and gently clicked it open. Inside was a picture of me…and James Potter. We were laughing into the camera, and his arms were around me, and my head on his shoulder. We looked so carefree and with a jolt, I recognized the Room of Requirement. We must've taken it on that Sunday, when we were both bored out of our minds.

"That's beautiful," Dorcas gazed over my shoulder. "And James gave it to you?"

"He's so thoughtful!" Alice gushed. "Oh Lily, to have someone like him fancy you—"

"He's not just arrogant and bigheaded," Marlene said quietly. "He's got a heart, and that heart is full of love for you."

I sighed. Oh, bloody hell.

* * *

><p>"Potter! Potter! Oi, James!" I panted, struggling to catch up to him. To my humility, Dorcas easily kept pace as the two of us raced to the Quidditch pitch before practice, and yet here I was, hands on my knees, lungs about to burst.<p>

"Yes, Lily?" he asked, stopping and motioning for Sirius to go on ahead.

"That—that locket," I gasped for breath. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," he smiled. "Are you going to watch us practice?"

"Sure," I agreed, surprising him, surprising Dorcas, and most of all, surprising myself. As soon as the word was out of my mouth, I regretted it. I didn't even _like_ Quidditch! And I'm supposed to sit through forty-five minutes of it right now. What had I gotten myself into?

"James, Sirius, release the Quaffle!" Sarah Wood shouted through the wind. Immediately, a red ball burst free from the trunk. "Now the Bludgers!" Sirius took off on his broom as James wrestled with the two twin dark balls. "And….the Snitch!"

As soon as a small gold glint zoomed out of the case, James took off as well. For the first time, I was aware of the shouts of the other spectators, mostly girls, yelling out things like, "I love you, James!" or, "Dump McKinnon and marry me, Sirius!" I clenched my teeth and tried to block them out, but some still managed to leak through: "What do you see in Evans anyway? Her hair is so ugly!"

_They train in these conditions,_ I realized_, and still manage to be the best team in the school? _I had to admit, I was impressed. I doubt I can put up with all those comments—for long, but they just keep on playing like it was only the seven of them on the pitch. I settled back into the icy bleachers, pulling my coat tighter around me, and enjoyed the show.

* * *

><p>"You guys are amazing!" I ran to the windswept, freezing team as soon as they dismounted. Dorcas raised her eyebrows and both James and Sirius gave me strange looks.<p>

"Are you feeling all right, Lily?" Dorcas asked concernedly. "You're not sick, are you?"

"Why is that when I say something nice people automatically assume that I'm out of my mind?" I wondered idly.

"'Cause it's out of character for you, Evans," Sirius joked. "Yahh! I'm joking, I'm joking!"

"Have some manners, Padfoot," James scoffed. "She's complimenting us, better take it before the once-in-a-lifetime chance is gone—"

"I've got my wand right here, you know."

"—I—I mean, thank you very much, Lily, ma'am," James stuttered. I laughed, putting my wand back into my coat pocket.

"How do you stand the people though?" I asked. The three of them looked at each other.

"What other people?" Dorcas said for them all.

"Uh, like the people in the stands?"

"How do we stand them…?" Sirius asked slowly. I stamped my foot.

"Yes, Black, yes! How the hell do you stand all the comments?"

"What comments?" James looked as if I had dragon pox.

"You can't hear them, can you?" I asked, looking at them. "It's either because of the wind or because you're too high up, right?"

"What are you _talking_ about, Lils?"

"In that case…never mind I said anything!"

"I think you need something from Madam Pomfrey," James decided. Shoving his broom into Sirius' hands, he swung me up into his arms, ignoring my protests. "We'll go on ahead, yeah?"

As soon as we were out of earshot of a shocked Dorcas and a grinning Sirius, I muttered, "Madam Pomfrey, my arse. It's just an excuse to carry me, isn't it?"

"You got it," he winked. I pressed down my desire to slap him and instead settled with crossing my arms tightly and looking straight ahead.

"Merry Christmas, by the way," he said conversationally. "Family heirloom, that is," he gestured to the locket, which I had fastened around my neck.

"It's a family heirloom?" I yelped. "Why did you give it to me then?"

"Calm down, Lily. I gave it to you because I wanted to, not a big deal."

"It looks expensive."

"Goblin-made."

"You give extravagant gifts, you know that?"

"Only to you."

I harrumphed and closed my eyes.

"I noticed that you didn't get me anything and couldn't help but feel a little hurt."

"I've never gotten you a present before," I said.

"But you know, I'd hoped that this year you would finally make an exception because you finally realized how generous and kind-hearted I am, not to mention extremely good-looking…"

"The only thing I realized this year is just how annoying you really are, especially when I get to know you." I retorted, but felt a little guilty because I _had_ planned to give him something, but since he and Black ruined my Hogsmeade weekend, I had pushed that matter to the very back of my brain. And he had gotten me a gobbling-made family trinket, which made my guilt even deeper.

"You know you love me," he teased. "Oi, take it easy! I'm joking, for the love of Merlin!"

"Now you see what I mean by annoying?" I rolled my eyes, smiling at the way he pouted like a little boy. "You're not really going to carry me to the hospital wing, are you?"

"Hell no. I wouldn't want you to miss the Christmas feast," he winked again, "nor the party that comes after it."

"Let me guess. You're going to smuggle firewhiskey from the kitchens, as usual, right?"

"Blimey, you're smart," he said in fake admiration. I sighed.

"What did I ever do to deserve to be clumped together with people like you?"

"Great things, I'm sure."

* * *

><p>True to his word, by that night, four barrels of firewhiskey had mysterious shown up in the common room, with other smaller mountains of sweets and cakes.<p>

"I don't suppose anything I say would change your minds now?" I asked James and Sirius as they filled mug after mug of the liquor.

"Here's to Christmas," Sirius raised his third mug and held it up to me, then drained it. I shook my head and stalked away_. Another night of sitting it out in the back corners, doing homework,_ I thought.

"Hey, Lily!" Marlene called out to me. "You're not doing homework on Christmas!"

"Says who?" I called back.

"Says me," James pulled me towards our friends. "At least try having a little fun!"

"You lot are unbelievable," I sighed as James gave me a mug of butterbeer.

"After you've finished that, come see me for me," he told me.

"Not likely!" I yelled after him. Then, turning to my friends, "Mmm, I love butterbeer."

* * *

><p>Against my conscious will, my feet carried myself towards James' butterbeer table.<p>

"I see you're back, Lils," he grinned as he poured me another mug.

"The stuff's too damn good," I accepted it grudgingly.

"When you've finished, come see me for more," he called. I shook my head and made my way back to my table, but not before turning around and saying,

"Merry Christmas, James,"

"Merry Christmas, Lily," he answered, smiling.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Well, I had planned a better chapter than that, but unfortunately time ran out so I had to settled with that horrible, horrible ending. Merry Christmas, everyone!<strong>

**~Gella**


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter Seventeen**

"New Year's party tonight!" Sirius yelled to the common room at large. "Find someone to snog, yeah?"

I sighed as I gathered together my bag. "Didn't you and James just hold a Christmas party?"

"Yeah. So?"

"I think I'll pass," I muttered, brushing past him.

He caught my arm. "Who's my mate going to kiss then?"

"I'm sure he'll find someone," I retorted. "I'm going to be late for class."

"Wait, Evans!" he shouted after me.

"_What_, Black?"

"James hadn't had a New Year's kiss for three years now. Put him out of misery."

"Not a chance!" I shouted back. He shook his head sadly and I set off for Transfiguration.

* * *

><p>I glared at the common room down below, with its loud music and sweaty bodies swaying feebly to the beat. I had spent majority of the night holed up in my dormitory with Dorcas, and together we finished our Potions, Transfiguration, <em>and<em> Astronomy homework. I had gone down to use the loo, and a seventh year Ravenclaw had tried to snog me, in his drunken stupor. I smiled a bit, despite myself; there's goes another person who've been on the receiving end of my Bat-Bogey Hexes now.

"You should go down and enjoy the party," a quiet voice said behind me.

I snorted. "I thought you know me better than that, Dorcas."

An arm wrapped around my shoulders. It was not Dorcas. I stiffened. "James? What're you doing up here? Shouldn't you be helping Black out with the firewhiskey?"

He drew me closer. "I've decided to make an exception this year."

We were both quiet for a few moments, then something came to my mind, something I had never thought of before.

"Tell me something, James. Being you…is it hard?"

This time _he_ stiffened, his grip tighter. "What are you talking about?"

"Must I draw out every little detail for you?" I sighed. "Is being James Charlus Potter, Quidditch star, every girl's dream, ringleader of the school's coolest gang, hard?"

I heard him sigh too. "You know what's hard? Having you, Lily Marie Evans, right here, right in front of me, but not being able to do what I really want to."

A fierce blush colored my cheeks. I knew too well what he was implying. "Answer my question."

"Well, yes, I suppose it is, sometimes. But overall, it's pretty nice," he turned to smirk at me. "Besides, I'm flattered that you think so highly of me."

"Getting all the girls everywhere you go must be nice," I remarked.

"All the girls," he agreed. "Except one."

"You're wasting your life away, you know, pining after me."

"I thought we'd already settled this."

"Oh, we have. I like to drag up old, insignificant arguments, is all." I gently twisted out of his arms. "I'm going to bed. Good night, James."

He looked at me with surprise. "You're not going to stay up for the countdown? It's only a few minutes from midnight now, you know."

I shook my head. "No. I don't see the point with that."

"But then who am I going to kiss?" he pulled me back.

I nodded down towards the sea of people. "I'm sure there'll be girls down there who are more than willing."

"I don't want them," he said softly, his eyes burning into mine. "I want you."

"To someone else, we're in a very interesting position right now, you know." My breath, curse it, was actually coming in short gasps now, loud enough for him to hear.

"Oh I know. Listen, there's the countdown," he said. I strained my ears, and sure enough, I could hear numbers being chanted.

"Damn you, Potter," I said quietly.

"Merlin, Lily. You're killing me," he murmured, wounding his arms around my waist and pulling me closer to him. The voices were now loud enough to carry to our ears, on the staircase.

Five…

"James, I'm going to scream."

Four…..

"Please don't," he said. "I'd rather our first kiss didn't start with your screaming bloody murder. People might get the wrong idea."

Three…..

"Potter, I'm warning you…!"

Two…..

"Bloody hell," a third voice breathed. We froze in our awkward pose, and a giant firework exploded downstairs. The New Year has arrived.

Dorcas stood in front of us, looking apologetic. "Did I, uh, interrupt something?"

We stared at her, then sprang apart as our brains began to function again.

"Uh, no! Not at all!" I practically yelled.

"Trust me, Dorcas! This isn't what you think!" James stuttered and held up his hands defensively as she advanced towards us.

"Congrats, mate!" she laughed and high-fived him. "And about time, too!"

"Dorcas," he said, warning in his voice. "Remember what happened last time you lot was on our case?"

"Oh no, I'm not going to tell Marlene. It'll be your little secret," she winked and left. I gaped after her. James' jaw was hanging wide open and I knew that we were both remembering what had almost happened a mere moment before. I turned to look at him and immediately wished I hadn't.

"S-sorry," I stammered. "I-I'm gonna go now."

Before he could say anything, or even pick his jaw off the floor, I turned and ran.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Wow, second New Year's story I wrote this week! The topic is really getting worn out. Oh well. Sorry if you were disappointed they didn't actually kiss, I'm planning something special for when they <strong>_**do**_** kiss—it comes in about three years, so stay with me! They kiss in my other fic though, and somehow I vastly prefer this one to that other one. Have a safe and happy New Years! Don't get pregnant and don't do drugs! I'll talk to you all next year!**

**~Gella**


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter Eighteen**

I lowered my eyes as we passed James Potter in the corridor. Dorcas sighed and Mary looked at me curiously. I waited until I was sure he was gone, then looked up again, giving Mary a weak and strained smile.

It's been a week since New Year's and I haven't once spoken to him. In fact, I was trying my hardest to avoid him, not an easy thing to do since I see him four times a day, not counting meals and the time in the common room after dinner, but I've managed. If I'm honest with myself, though, it was because of my cowardice. I'll admit it, I've been too scared to look at him, much less talk. When I think on it, it's very much similar to the almost-kiss in the igloo, but this time I ran. I don't run. I face things head-on. But I didn't, not this time. His opinion of me must've dropped a hundredfold, I reflected bitterly. First running away, and being afraid to look him in the eye. What was happening to me?

That question is clearly on Marlene's mind too. True to her word, Dorcas had not snitched, something I'm not sure is a blessing or a curse. Marlene would definitely know what to do, but she _didn't_ know about _that_. She's perceptive enough, though, to sense that something's on my mind, but she hasn't yet come out in the open about it. Yet. That changed one day after dinner.

"All right, Lily," she demanded. "You're avoiding James Potter like he insulted your mother. Something's wrong. Spill. Now."

I sighed. I knew this would come sooner or later. Might as well as get it over with.

"Let's go up to the dorm," I muttered, keeping my eyes on my feet as we brushed past the Marauders. Once the door closed securely behind us, I collapsed on my bed.

"I don't know what to do, Mar!" I cried. "It's so awkward between us now."

"Slow down. Tell me what happened," she soothed. Taking a deep breath, I told her everything that happened on New Year's Eve, from the mundane details, like the obnoxious Ravenclaw to the awkwardness-in-question. A slight look of hurt flickered across her face when I got to the part of James warning Dorcas not to say anything to the others, but it disappeared immediately. And finally, when I finished, I was lying facedown on the bed, mumbling into my pillow.

"That's a quite a night you had," was her commented when I elapsed into silence.

"Tell me about it."

"You can't avoid him forever, you know."

"I had hoped otherwise."

"Why don't you talk with him?" she suggested. "Set things straight, y'know."

"What do I say though? I just want to be friends and he clearly wants something else. I don't want to have to punch his teeth out next time he tries something!"

"Then don't," Marlene answered drily. "Tell him what you just told me, minus the punching part."

"No, I think I'll include the punching part to serve as a warning."

"If you're sure then."

"But how do I say it? I don't want it to get more confusing than it already is."

"I can't help you with that, Lils," she said gently. "You've got to settle this on your own."

* * *

><p>"Now's your chance!" Marlene hissed at me. "Go!"<p>

I took a deep breath, crossed every finger and toe I have, and strode over to James and the Marauders, sitting under the beech tree by the lake.

"Potter," I cleared my throat, hating how my voice almost quaked. "Can I talk to you? Privately?"

"'Course," he followed me, looking a bit unnerved. I clenched my teeth and turned to face him.

"Sorry," I blurted out.

"What?"

"Sorry I've been avoiding you lately." Lame, lame, lame, Lily. So damn _lame_!

"Oh. That's all right," he said. "So, er, we're back to normal now?"

"Normal?" I snorted. "How can anything be normal with you four around?"

He laughed. "Normal it is, then."

I smiled briefly and ran back to Marlene.

"That was good!" she congratulated me. I sighed.

"That was _not_ good and you know it. What was I thinking? 'Sorry'?" I resumed my favorite facedown pose on the grass.

"At least you got it over with," she reminded me gently. "And he accepted it, right?"

"That bloke will accept anything. He's out of it, I tell you."

"Nah, he's just crazy in love."

"Agh!"

I didn't have to look up to know that Marlene was smiling.

* * *

><p>"Quidditch match tomorrow!" James announced cheerfully at breakfast. "Gryffindor against Ravenclaw. Anyone coming?"<p>

"Do you know anyone who doesn't go?" I asked, rolling my eyes.

"You," he pointed out. "And Remus."

"I do go!" I insisted. "And Remus does too."

"Whatever you say, Lily."

"You're still playing Seeker?" I asked, biting into a roll and thinking of the Golden Snitch from the first match of the year, fluttering around in my dormitory. He nodded.

"It's more exciting than playing Chaser. I think I'll be Seeker next year too."

"Don't listen to him, Evans," Sirius butted in. "He just wants to woo you with the Snitch—"

"What did I say about not spilling that?" James exclaimed.

"Rest assured that his ploys won't work, Black," I replied, shooting James a look. He sulked, all his previous good spirits gone.

"They better not. My mate had better stay a bachelor," he said firmly. "This year, at least."

"Padfoot, just shut up," James sighed. "My head hurts from your talking."

"My eyes hurt by just looking at you," Sirius retorted.

"That was hurtful!"

"You started it!"

"What are they, five-year-olds?" I muttered to Alice, who shrugged and went back to staring at Frank. I finished my breakfast and headed back to the common room, to grab a book that I had forgotten. On the way, I saw Severus and changed my course, walking towards him. To my disgust, I saw that he was talking in low voices with Walter MacNaire and Theodore Nott, who both looked up and glared as I approached.

"Walk away, Mudblood," MacNaire growled. "This is none of your business."

"Lily, go," Severus said without looking at me. "I'll talk to you later."

I glared at all three of them before continuing on my way. When I reached the staircase, my head started to hurt a little, but I thought nothing of it. I hurried into my dorm, grabbed the overdue book and two Knuts and took a small sip of water. However, as I was about to leave, the headache turned into something bigger, and I collapsed against my bedpost. A series of confusing flashes echoed through my head, and a moment later, they were gone. I picked up the book that I had dropped and set down the staircase firmly. For all the pretense in the world, however, I couldn't shake off the feeling that the small migraine this time was somehow related to the two nightmares before. Neither could I unmake the lingering afterimage of the flash of bright green.

I didn't sleep very well that night. From the look of James' face next morning, he didn't either, apparently.

"What are you worried about?" I asked, spooning some cereal into my bowl. "Is the great and mighty James Potter actually _nervous_?"

"Lily, not now." His voice was unusually tense.

"Are you all right?" I asked, startled by his response.

"I'm fine!" He snapped. I shrugged and turned to Dorcas.

"What happened?" I asked her in a low voice.

"Slipped off his broom yesterday," she whispered back. "First time in years, mind."

"So?"

"So he's worried it's going to happen again!" she explained impatiently. "And he thinks that last time was a fluke and now he's all worried about losing the Snitch to the Ravenclaw Seeker."

I was confused, a more than a bit worried. This isn't the James I know. He never got nervous before matches and even if he was, he would never let it show on his face like this.

I turned back to him. "Well, eat! We can't have you playing on an empty stomach, can we?"

"Since when did you become so concerned about Quidditch?" he joked, but stuffed down a few sausages in one go. I smiled; the old James has returned.

* * *

><p>Well, obviously Gryffindor won, with three hundred points to seventy. The Ravenclaw team was good, but it was painfully obvious—even to me—that they were no match for the teamwork and superiority, if I may say so myself, of the Gryffindors. As was the norm, a victory party was held and as usual, the two Quidditch heroes drank until they could drink no more.<p>

I had gone up to bed early and used Muggle earplugs to drown out the noise to sleep. By sleep, I mean more like lying in bed and clutching my head more than actually grabbing winks. I don't know what was happening, headaches never used to be a problem for me.

When I couldn't stand it anymore, I got up and tried doing my Arithmancy homework, hoping the numbers and the formulas and equations will help dull the pain, but the more I tried to concentrate, the more intense the agony. Finally, after hours of turning and tossing in bed, as well as tossing bits of ruined parchment into the trashbin, the pain eased and I fell asleep, alone, in the cold, silent dormitory.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Really random, patched-together chapter this time. Gah. I have no idea where I'm going with the headaches thing, but the two nightmares seemed too random and out of place on their own. Anyway, I'm going to ask a favor this time: can anyone interested go read my Trio story, A Recipe For Disaster? I'm not begging for reviews, I just need to know if it's good enough so I can decide whether to continue it or not. Thanks in advance! Unless, you know, you think I'm a horrible author and wouldn't even be bothered to read it. I hope that's not the case. <strong>

**~Gella**


	19. Chapter 19

I narrowed my eyes at James and Marlene, who were whispering together at a table by the fire. They did that a lot recently. Not that I've got a problem, of course not! But when two people such as themselves start to display such behavior, I'll be damned if I don't keep a sharp lookout.

Sirius was another problem too. Since his best mate and his girlfriend are always around each other, he seems to have developed a suspicion, something that involved James, Marlene, and himself. It was also something that no one wants groaned in their face continuously for two weeks, especially when that particular person is trying to finish some last-minute homework.

"Honestly, Sirius," I said tiredly, "that isn't what you think it is! They're friends too, you know!"

"I do know," he whined, "but a man can't help but worry when his girl starts romping around with his mate, could he?"

"Yeah?" I shot back. "Well, now you know how Marlene feels when you're off doing Merlin knows what, don't you?"

"That isn't what you think it is!" He shouted, then sighed meekly as I raised an eyebrow at him. "Yeah, yeah, you've got a point. I'm going down to the kitchens. Want me to bring some firewhiskey for you?"

"I'm good," I said—I doubted he was going to the kitchens anyway—and finally turned to the tottering pile of books and parchment stacked in front of me. Three hours passed before I decided to call it a night, and Sirius still hasn't returned. He definitely wasn't going the kitchens. Stretching, I dumped everything in my bag, too tired to be organized, and lumbered upstairs. To my surprise, no one was asleep yet. Alice was engrossed in her diary as usual, and gave me a smile before going back to scribbling down the events of her day, which undoubtedly all contained something about Frank. Mary wasn't there, maybe the. Dorcas was reading Quidditch Through the Ages—_again_. Marlene, like me, was doing homework, but jumped and hid it behind her back as I approached.

"What was that?" I asked, reaching for it. She stuck it under her pillows and shook her head. I looked at her. She shook her head again. I studied her bright eyes, huge grin, and flushed cheeks, and some of Sirius' nonsense wormed themselves into my brain. _Oh, shut up,_ I snapped at them.

_Missed me_? a small voice said back. I groaned; it looked as if my conscious has returned.

_I said shut up_! I snarled and shook my own head. Snap out of it, Lily. You don't care if she was doing anything with James Potter, right? And I didn't, aside from Sirius' broken heart, maybe, but he's got plenty of remedy for that. Shrugging, I headed back to my own bed and pulled out a reading book. _They were probably just discussing homework or something_, I though, trying to placate myself. _But why did she hide the scrap of paper then_?

* * *

><p>There they were again. Hardly listening to Professor Sprout's lesson on freshwater and saltwater gillyweeds, the two heads, one blonde and one black, when stuck together, whispering. They were partners for today's hands-on, and Sirius and I were paired together. And he was as confused as I was, if not more.<p>

"SIRIUS BLACK!" I cried, catching our tray just before it crashed onto the ground. "PAY BLOODY ATTENTION!"

"Sorry," he muttered, repositioning it on the worktable and somewhat more calmly cut both gillyweeds in half. I sighed and rubbed my eyes, then resumed our dissection of both wads.

"What'd you reckon they're doing?" Sirius asked, setting the knife down. I snatched my foot away as the sharp point landed on the ground where my ankle had been a second before. He looked sheepish as I glared at him and picked it up.

"Why don't you ask them? In the meanwhile, stop trying to maim me with Herbology equipment, if you please."

"Good idea," he said thoughtfully. "In fact I'll go right now."

"Black—!" I started to say, but he was already halfway across the greenhouse, making straight for James and Marlene's table. I watched as Marlene shushed him urgently and throw a look in my direction. I frowned back, and she turned to her boyfriend again and whispered something into his ear. Slowly, his angry features settled into a perplexed one, then finally resolving on one of pure delight. I swear, he practically skipped back to our table, bursting with happiness as he was.

"So?" I demanded. He shook his head. "Oh, for the love of Merlin! Don't you start acting all mysterious too!"

"You were right, Evans," he told me, grinning. "It isn't what you think it is."

I pondered those words for the remainder of the day. So, the Sirius-James-Marlene love triangle was out—not that it was there in the first place, psh, what gave you the idea? But I still couldn't work out what it was. That is, until Alice accidentally gave me a clue at dinner.

"Hey Lily," she said, sitting next to me.

"Hi, Al." I scooted over to give her more space. "What's up?"

"I was just wondering, what would you like for your birthday? Don't give me the specifics, of course," she added hastily. "Just a list, or something."

"My birthday?" I asked.

"Yes, your birthday. Like the day you were born? That comes round once a year?"

"Bloody hell," I whispered. "My birthday."

"Lily, are you all right?"

"I'm fine, Alice. Um, what was it that you wanted?"

"A list of things that you might want for your birthday," she repeated slowly.

"Oh…er, that's totally fine, you don't have to get me anything—"

"Don't be silly, Lils. What kind of friend would I be if I didn't?"

"Erm, well, I can't think right now. I'll get back to you later, all right?" Without giving her a chance to answer, I dashed off to the other end of the table, where Sirius, James, and Marlene sat.

"You're planning something for my birthday, aren't you?" I looked accusingly at the three of them. Sirius raised a cool eyebrow.

"And what makes you think that?" he asked, leaning forward on his elbows.

"Well—I mean, my birthday's next week, and—" I said, flustered.

"And you call James arrogant," Marlene chipped in. "What if the thing we were planning wasn't related in any way to your birthday?"

"What…?"

"Lily, go back to your dinner," James shooed me away. "It's hard enough for us to get every detail in place as it is."

In a daze, I went back to my seat. Alice looked slightly offended in my speedy flight and didn't talk to me for the remainder of dinner. Then I stayed in the library until Madam Pince had to chase me out. It was fortunate enough that, when I finally dragged my feet back to the Gryffindor Tower, most of the students had gone up to bed. On the other hand, Marlene was just coming out as I pulled open the door, and we crashed into each other.

"Sorry," I muttered. She gave me a small nod. Ignoring the looks of the others, I climbed into bed, not even caring that my bag was half unpacked. I pulled the blankets over my head to snuff out the flurries of whispers that had started. Curling into a tight ball, I slept until morning.

* * *

><p>I was seriously considering skiving off today, especially Transfiguration, my first class of the day. That is, until I saw McGonagall in my mind's eye, and her almost daily lectures of the importance of school, and with a huge groan and a sad goodbye to my warm bed, I pulled myself out of bed. Racing down the stairs into the Great Hall, I ate a very hurried breakfast and made it just in time, moments before the bell rang. Out of breath and hurriedly fixing my hair, I started to take notes for today. Alice stilled looked spiffed, and of coursed James and Marlene and Sirius were still doing their little thing of 'Let's Ignore Lily'. Next class, Herbology, was no better. I got paired with Sirius again, but this time he was even less helpful than before. I spend majority of the hour working alone by myself, with him over at James and Marlene's table. This continued until lunch, when James asked me politely to pass the salt. And that was it.<p>

By the end of the day, I've had virtually no interaction at all with my friends, and they didn't seem to be in a hurry to act like their old selves again. So it was another lonely night in the library for me. After being kicked out again, I went down to the kitchens to pass some time. But in the end, I had to face the inevitable. It was three in the morning when I finally returned to my dormitory. All the other beds were dark, although I heard what sounded like a quill scratching across parchment in Marlene's direction. I sighed, feeling very small, and very, very alone.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Happy belated Chinese New Year! I'll love you forever if you can write the next few paragraphs for a Recipe For Disaster, I'll give you credit. I'm just so out of ideas now. If not, I'll still love you. Sort of. Maybe a little less. <strong>

**~Gella**


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter Twenty**

Tomorrow was my birthday, and I couldn't remember being more miserable. Alice had decided that I indeed did want nothing for my birthday, and eventually stopped speaking to me altogether. James and Sirius were still plotting whatever they're plotting, with Marlene, and Dorcas was hardly ever here. Remus and Mary became my only friends. And even they had a thing for each other, leaving me the third wheel. I no longer headed back to the Gryffindor Tower after dinner, instead taking sanctuary in the kitchens. At least the elves don't hate me. On top of everything, it was highly likely that I'll be spending my birthday alone, with no happiness, no friends. Life's just jolly fun right now.

I whine, I whine, but when I think about what Sirius said, I have to shut up and think for a moment. I had automatically assumed it was about me. That everyone's thinking about _me_. That anything has to have _me_ in the center. Does that make me as bad as James Potter?

No, I argued. I think that because in previous years, he did throw several parties—all of which I either refused to attend, or crashed by snitching on him to Professor McGonagall. And this one year, when I could actually think about going, he decides to throw it back in my face.

_But then_, I thought again,_ what _were_ they planning_? Was it really for someone else? I tried to avert my mind from images of our Astronomy professor, simpering and dimpering after him.

_You don't care if it's not for you_, I told myself over and over again. _You don't care, you don't want a party_. And it was true. I _didn't_ want a party. All I wanted was to have my friends back.

* * *

><p>It was a Saturday. I woke up, squinting against the sun and rubbing my forehead. The dormitory was empty, its inhabitants no doubt up to a day of fun and love in Hogsmeade. Without me. As I lay there, feeling pathetically sorry for myself, I realized that something was on my forehead. I glanced up, feeling like an idiot, a pair of eyes stared into my own. It gave a small chirp, landing on my covers. A small yellow canary. I looked around the room self-consciously. After making sure no one was there, I started to talk to the canary.<p>

"So," I said, "random bird in my dorm. And I'm talking to you, like it's perfectly normal. That's cool. Not a big deal."

It tweeted in response and began attacking my fingers.

"Ouch!" I yelped, pulling away. "Bloody hell, bird, stop it."

It didn't, and resumed with even more vigor.

"What do you want?" I growled, sucking on my bleeding thumb. It caught my finger in its feet and began to fly towards the door. I chuckled at its vain efforts. "All right, so you want me to get up. Just give me a bit of privacy first."

And—_it ducked its head and turned away_. "What a funny bird you are," I told it, changing into a jacket and some jeans. "Well, let's go."

It led me down the stairs. And out the portrait hole. And onto the fourth floor. And into an unused classroom. There, it hovered in front of a mirror, chirping at me.

"You dragged me all this way to move a mirror?" I asked.

Chirp.

"You have got to be joking." Nevertheless, I heaved the heavy thing up and immediately dropped it in shock. The canary tweeted its irritation at the noise.

"Holy mother of Merlin," I breathed. "What _is_ this?"

In front of me was a dark tunnel. It looked very dark and very tunnel-y. And who knows where it led. It chirped, gesturing with one wing into the slimy depths.

"You want me to get in that?" I asked. "Okay, I've gone beyond the boundaries of sanity by following you here and _talking_ to you, but now this? No, no, no, no, no. No. I'm going back. If this is some type of prank or joke or whatever, tell him to go—" I broke off suddenly.

On the shattered mirror, a message appeared. "'Trust me'," I murmured, shivering. I wasn't superstitious, but in the cold, shadowy classroom, I couldn't help but feel a little jumpy. What was that thing, about seven years of bad luck if you look into a cracked mirror—?

A new word appeared. _Lily_, it said, _trust me_. I backed up against the wall, cursing my stupidity of not bringing my wand. "W-who's there?" I asked shakily. "Sh-show yourself!"

If I had expected a dramatic gust of wind of something of the like, I was bitterly disappointed. The room remained empty and freezing as ever, and the pieces of the mirror stayed on the floor. I glanced at the canary, and I swear it was almost tapping its feet on a desk. "All right, I must be crazy to do this, but…" I took a deep breath and dove into the tunnel. It was every bit as slimy and gross and disgusting as it looked. But yet, when I raised a hand to feel my hair, it was…dry. And not slimy and gross and disgusting like it should have been. Slightly encouraged, I felt my way through the tunnel, with the bird by my side. It seemed as if it was sloping downwards. The blinding sunlight welcomed me after a few minutes of groping in the dark and just about killed my retinas. I stepped out of the tunnel, looking around and seeing Hagrid's hut in the distance. When I turned around and the tunnel was gone, like it had never been there at all. I stared for a while, until a chirp diverted my attention.

"Well, I'm out here now. What do you want?" I asked.

It flew in the opposite direction. Wonderful. I hadn't thought to wear boots and my shoes were soaked through in seconds. And the bird seemed to have no immediate destination in mind. _Wonderful_. I kept my head down against the wind, almost frozen to the bone in my thin jacket. _What a way to spend my birthday_, I thought wryly. My eyesight was fuzzy at the edges, and a bright marquee sprang up in front of me.

"I've got quite the imagination, huh?" I said out lout, admiring the big pavilion. "If there was a prize for seeing things, I'd win it, hands down."

And to add on to that, hazy versions of James and Marlene and Sirius appeared from the marquee. "Happy birthday!" They yelled, showering me with confetti.

"Oh, hey guys," I said to the hallucinations. "Don't you think that the sky is really blue today?"

"Lily, it's your birthday, don't worry about the sky—"

"You look funny," I giggled, pointing at the mirage of James. "What's that on your nose?"

He grew hazier. "Lily, are you okay?"

"Yes," I said truthfully. "But the snow is so colorful…"

The last thing I remember before passing out were the worried faces of my best friends.

* * *

><p>Yellow bird…cracked mirror…tunnel…birthday party…<p>

I slowly opened my eyes. Marlene and Sirius were looking down at me, concern apparent in their faces. I blinked once, and the brightness of the canvas nearly made me faint again.

"Are you real?" I asked Marlene.

"Yes, I'm real," she whispered, squeezing my hand.

"Good," I sighed. "I saw you, but you weren't…"

"Evans, you just…fainted," Sirius informed me. "What happened?"

"I don't know," I said. "There was this canary—and he understood what I said!"

"It's a she," Marlene told me. "I named her Piper."

Chirp.

I turned to face her. "Hey, Piper," I raised my hand and she landed daintily on my index finger.

"Do you feel okay?" James asked and I realized that he was the one who caught me when I fainted.

"Yeah," I said, getting up. "Yeah, I'm fine. What's the occasion?"

"Evans, are you sure you're fine?" Sirius asked. "It's for your birthday, obviously."

"Oh! It's for my birthday, is it?" I asked. "Mary, you can all come out now."

Sheepishly, Mary, Remus, Peter, Alice and Dorcas came out of their hiding place. Peter halfheartedly blew his horn and Dorcas mumbled what could have been something resembling "happy birthday". I looked around in admiration. They really worked on this. It was even glitzier than the igloo, and _that's_ saying something.

"Wow, this is nice," I said. "How'd you get McGonagall to allow this on the grounds?"

"We didn't," Marlene said. "She doesn't know about it and let's hope she doesn't find out anytime soon."

"Because she definitely won't see this from a mile away," I nodded. "Right, got it."

"So, er," James said awkwardly. "Do you want some cake?"

"Sure. What flavor is it?"

"Chocolate," he handed me a slice. "Here you go."

I looked at it, making no move to actually eat it. I just looked.

"Aren't you going to eat it?" James asked hesitantly. "I thought it was your favorite…"

"Oh, it is. It's just…well, I don't exactly deserve this, do I?"

"Lily, what are you _talking_ about?" Marlene asked. "It's your party, and your birthday. Of course you deserve it!"

"No, someone as arrogant as me doesn't deserve such nice friends who would go this far just to make my birthday special." I decided, setting the plate down. "You guys are too good for me."

"_What_?" Dorcas exploded; she never was the most subtle one.

"Arrogant people like me…we shouldn't have great friends who'd ignore us then suddenly surprise us out of the blue like this. Because that's just too arrogant of us, you know? To assume that something good will always be at the end? We're so arrogant, we always think something's up when our friends start to act differently. Right?" I knew I was being ungrateful. I knew I should probably just give them all a hug and enjoy the party. But I didn't do that. I turned and marched straight out, with Piper still on my finger.

* * *

><p>"What have I done?" I groaned. "Dammit, Lily. Why did you have to do that?" Piper chirped helpfully from her spot on the windowsill. "Why, why, why, why, why?"<p>

I felt terrible for walking out. They had worked so hard on it! And I ruined it with my attitude. I groaned again, burying my head under my pillow. How good would it be if I could jump into a hole and never come back?

A little while later, the door to the dorm opened. Marlene and Mary walked in, saw me sitting numbly on my bed, and looked at each other. I sighed inwardly as Marlene approached me cautiously, like I'm some type of wild animal, docile for now.

"Lily," her voice was smaller than I had ever heard it, "are you sure you don't want some cake?"

I looked into her teary face, feeling a sharp retort at the tip of my tongue. Then, the next thing I knew, I was hugging her as hard as I could, tears running down my own face.

"I didn't mean it!" I bawled into her shoulder. "I'm so sorry! I don't know what happened to me, but I didn't mean it!"

She stood still, shell-shocked, I'm sure, but she hugged me back. "I know you didn't," she whispered. "I love you, Lily."

Mary joined our group hug, and Alice too, when she found the three of us on the floor, sobbing. She didn't ask what we were doing, just sat down and put her arms around me like it was the most natural thing in the world. It made me cry all the harder.

Dorcas wasn't at dinner, but James and Sirius were. The first thing I did was hug them too. I saved them the torture of having a girl cry in their arms, but a few droplets found their way onto James' jacket. He didn't seem too alienated, though, thank Merlin. We smiled at each other, and a warm feeling grew in my heart, melting the ice that had grown in the last few days. I could stay there forever, under the lights of the Great Hall, basking in the love of my friends, with James' arms around me. But there was one more thing to settle. It was the hardest out of them all.

"Dorcas," I said.

"Lily." She replied. There was an uncomfortable silence during which we just stared at each other. Her face was hard, almost as hard as the tension between us.

"Look, I know you don't do hugs," I said finally, "but can you make an exception this one time, for me?"

"Why should I?" she asked. "Because you're Lily Evans?"

"Exactly."

"How very modest of you," she smirked. "Oh, _come_ here, Lils."

The last of the ice thawed as we stepped into each other's arms. "You know me," I said after we broke apart, smiling, "I'm just modest as hell."

After that, we all headed down to the kitchens to celebrate my birthday. Ignoring the elves' protests, we all took part in the baking. Chocolate cake has never tasted so good.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I couldn't think of anything else so I stole something from Nigahiga –cowers in corner– Please don't arrest me for plagiarism! <strong>

**~Gella**


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter Twenty-One**

The next morning, I woke to the sight of two Marauders zooming into our dormitory on their brooms. Sirius soared in upside down, grinning at me before preforming a rather impressive flip and dipping down. James came next, and I covered my head as he swerved past at breakneck speed, but he did a loop-the-loop and stopped, hovering above my bed.

"Potter, that wasn't a nice way to wake me up. I'd rather someone not try and behead me with a broomstick early in the morning, thanks," I said crossly, abandoning my fetal position.

He snorted. "What, did you think I was going to crash or something? Please."

"What are you two doing here anyway? It's barely five o'clock!"

He looked pointedly at the sun high in the sky then at my clock. I sighed. "Fine, it's ten-thirty. But what _are_ you doing here?"

"Must you always be so harsh and abrupt?" Sirius sighed too. "Will it kill you to be nice for once?"

I glared at him. He smiled back. My eyebrows jumped up. "Sirius. Why are you in Marlene's bed?"

"Yeah, Marlene!" he said loudly. "Why'd you violate my personal space?"

I left the two of them to their own business and turned to James. "Unless you tell me now, I will blast you into the middle of next week. That's a promise."

"_Would_ it kill you to be nice for once?" he wondered.

"Say that to my wand."

"To wish you a slightly belated birthday," James told me. "Moony, send 'em up!"

I heard a grunt, and someone—Remus, presumably—muttering a Hovering Charm. Then, four wrapped parcels flew up in the fashion of the boys, softly bobbing up and down before me.

"What's this?" I asked curiously. "Merlin forbid, it can't be for me, can it? Right, Dorcas?"

"Shut up, Lily," Dorcas mumbled. "Quidditch practice later…lemme sleep."

"Quidditch practice is canceled," James announced cheerfully, "so up you get, Dorky!"

'Dorky' was up in a flash. "What did you just say?" she asked dangerously, wand pointed at James' heart.

"You're worse than Lily," he muttered. "All right, _Dorcas_, Sarah canceled the practice today."

"What? Why? Not that I mind," she added hastily, "but you know Sarah…"

"Yeah," James agreed. "But apparently it's too cold out today, even for her."

"Or maybe it's because of Andrew Davis," Dorcas said slyly. "I heard that they've been getting pretty hot and heavy with each other."

"'Hot and heavy'?" I quoted her. "Who are you and what have you done to Dorcas?"

"But it's true," she whispered conspiratorially. "Everyone knows it."

"We can gossip later. Lily, you should probably open your presents," James said, nodding to the packages, which were thumping me not-so-gently on the head.

"What a temper they've got." I unwrapped the first one. "Hey, Sirius, thanks for the—Sirius?"

"Hmm?" he asked, not looking up. I shuddered and averted my eyes.

"Thanks anyway. Tell me when you're both done." I tucked the beautiful eagle-feather quill into my pencil case and turned to the next one. It was from Remus, The Extra-Extreme Guide to Advanced Potion-Making. I flipped through it, marveling at all the odd things wizards have come up with. "Thanks, Remus!" I called downstairs. "Why're you and Peter not up here?"

"We don't know how to fly," was his answer. Oh. Fair enough.

"You might not want to open Peter's indoors," James whispered to me. "Bring it when we go to Hogsmeade."

"Whoever said I was coming to Hogsmeade?" I gingerly set the parcel down, half expecting it to start smoldering any second.

"I just did. Oh, come on, Lils. Don't tell me you're going to stay inside and do homework on a day like this!"

"Exams are coming up," I reminded him. "I need to study."

"Exams are in May," he said. "You're coming to Hogsmeade."

I was coming to Hogsmeade.

* * *

><p>After Sirius and James went to get ready, I decided to see what type of weather we had that would make <em>Sarah Wood<em> cancel practice. The view didn't disappoint.

"That is quite a bit of snow," I said, squinting against the sun. "Do you think that maybe Sarah just doesn't want to catch her snowy white death?"

"Nah," Dorcas said lazily. "She's definitely with Davis."

"And do you think that you could maybe get off your lazy bum and get up?"

"Nah. You go on to Hogsmeade, I'll stay here and sleep."

"You're so not sleeping, Meadowes," Sirius' voiced said. "Think of the possibilities, with all the snow…"

"Exactly," Dorcas growled. "I still haven't forgotten the last time you two pushed me into a snowdrift after practice."

"It's tough love," James added to my look of horror. "We all love each other, really."

"Speak for yourself," Dorcas retorted.

"But you're still coming with us," I told her.

"But I wanna sleep!"

"Too bloody bad. You're not leaving me alone with those two maniacs."

"You'll have Marlene," she quipped. I glanced over my shoulder at Sirius and Marlene and looked at her, eyes pleading. She sighed. "All right, all right. I'm coming."

"I'm not," Alice yawned. "Frank's helping me with my Charms today."

"Helping you with your charms, eh? Have fun!" Marlene called jauntily. "Are you coming, Mary?"

"Or do you choose Remus?"

I wasn't the only one who noticed her blush. "Aw, give her a break," James said. "Remus did say that he's rather be inside with his girl than out with us hooligans in the snow…"

"That's settled, then! I expect a wedding invitation any day now," Dorcas told Mary cheerfully. "But I'd really hate to intrude on your little double date…"

"What did you just say?" I gasped. "Are you insane?"

"That's not too bad of an idea," James said thoughtfully.

I threw a book at him. "Dorcas, this is exactly why I need you."

"Fine," she laughed. "But you have to admit, your love-hate relationship is adorable at times."

"You're just asking for a hex to your arse."

"Ooh, touchy! Okay, I'll shut up now."

* * *

><p>I gasped as we stepped out onto the grounds. What I saw from the window did not do the scene justice at all. A thick blanket of snow covered every surface, reflecting the sun. Everything was white, and not white at the same time. Little specks of light danced across the paleness, and my eyes hurt by just looking at the dazzling brightness. Even on the thinnest of branches and tiniest of twigs piled a sizeable layer, gently swaying and swaying and pouring powdery snow onto whoever was unfortunate enough to be standing underneath it. Small, delicate flakes still drifted through the cold, sharp air, and oh, it was just so <em>perfect<em>.

"SNOW FIGHT!" Sirius yelled, ruining my moment. Suddenly, snowballs were flying through the air and blinding sheets rained down from the trees. The tranquil serenity only a moment before was broken. I stood still, staring wistfully into the distance, wishing, _willing_ the calm and the quiet to come back. Until a solid chunk of ice hit me right in the back, and almost drove me face-first into a tree. I whipped around, ducked, and furiously began forming my own missiles.

We battled for an hour straight. Alliances were forged and broken. Sometimes it was teamwork, most times it was every-witch-for-her-own. An hour of complete and utter chaos, and laughter, and fun. Finally, drooping and exhausted, we one by one dropped onto the soft snow, until the silence returned once more. Only, this time it wasn't the peaceful silence of before. This time, the silence was _alive_. Our ferocious bouts had awakened small animals and birds from their slumber, and they scurried, unseen, in the white undergrowth. Our own labored breathing created small tendrils of gas in the air, twisting and winding into nothing. The sky was clear and thin wisps of clouds lined the horizon, and the beauty of it all almost succeeded in distracting me from the fact that my arms and legs and face were frozen stiff. Almost.

"I can't move," I mumbled through numb lips.

"Yes you can." Without warning someone grabbed my arms and heaved me up.

"POTTER!" I screamed. "DO NOT DO THAT!"

He grinned at me cheekily. "And you said you couldn't move."

"I just found out I can." Numbness forgotten, I shoved him into a deep snowdrift and smirked down at him. "That was from Dorcas," I told him.

"Thanks, Lils. I'd love you even more if you could cause him just a bit more physical harm…"

"Why not," I said conversationally. "Or would you like to do the honors?"

"I can't move," she reminded me, wearing smirk of her own.

"Fine then." I drew back my foot a good distance and prepared to let it go.

"Why do you do this to me?" James moaned. "Have mercy, O Mighty Queen Lily!"

I paused. "Since you called me Queen…I guess I can let this one slide."

"No!" Marlene cried dramatically. "We're losing her to the other side!"

"Lily! How could you!"

"Oh, be quiet," I extended a hand to help James up. "Next time you decide to dislocate my arm, though…"

Hastily, he changed the subject before I could issue any death threats. "Did you bring Peter's present?" he asked.

I patted my pocket. "Yeah, got it here. Where is he, anyway?"

"Too chicken for the cold. Probably mad now that he's missing out on the fun," he winked.

"Just get up. Or I'm leaving you here."

"Oh, you wouldn't do that." He pulled himself up.

"Wouldn't I?"

"Stop flirting with Evans, mate!" Sirius called. "Let's go."

"I should probably open this now, right?" I asked, pulling out the small—yet apparently deadly—parcel.

"Yeah, good idea. Here, pull on that drawstring—"

I pulled. A multitude of bright fireworks popped out, spelling out the sentence, Happy Birthday, Lily! Colorful confetti fell from the equally colorful cloud, but the letters stayed there, smoldering slightly, just as I imagined it to.

"Slightly belated," he said, "but still, it's not every day that you turn fifteen."

"It's not from Peter at all, is it?"

"No," he confessed. "Just pretend it's from the two of us."

I smiled. "I like it. But," I said as we followed the others, "don't you think sometimes you spend a little too much time on me? Just a little?"

And of course, he actually looked surprised, as if the notion had never crossed his mind before. Of _course_. Bloody typical James Potter. "No. Why?"

How the hell do I put this into words? "Never mind," I decided. This was not an issue I wanted to pursue right now. He thought otherwise.

"Wait, what do you mean? Tell me," he demanded. "Hey, Lily? Tell me."

I took a deep breath. "Well—it's just—you put so much work and effort and thought into everything you do for me, and sometimes it's barely necessary. Yeah, it's sweet, and I guess every other girl would faint over things like this—but—"

"But you'd rather me be studying or writing essays or reading," he finished for me with a grin.

"No! Well, _yes_, but—okay, let's put it this way: for my birthday next year or whatever, just—just make a card or something, you don't have to go all out with the surprise party and fancy fireworks and all that. A card will do. Really," I insisted.

"But what if I want to?" he returned.

"Too bad! I want a card and nothing else. Got it?"

"You're weird," he said. "But all right. I'll get you a card next year."

"Good," I smiled. "Let's go now."

* * *

><p>The warmth of the Three Broomsticks was a stark contrast to the brittle cold outside. Almost immediately, Madam Rosmerta abandoned a flagon of oak mead on the bar and hurried towards James and Sirius. Dorcas and I exchanged an eye roll, but Marlene glared daggers at the woman.<p>

"So, Sirius," I said loudly. "Valentine's Day is coming up. Who's going to be your valentine?"

He looked at me like I was crazy. "Evans, you all right? Didn't catch a cold or anything out there, right?"

"No, no," I assured him," I'm fine. Now answer my question."

"As subtle and eloquent as ever," he remarked.

"Answer my question."

"What was the question again?" he smirked at me, while pulling Marlene closer. I noticed a sour look on Rosmerta's face and smiled secretly to myself. The smile vanished—secretly, of course—as she sidled up to James, almost doling herself out on him.

"Five butterbeers, please," Dorcas told her politely. "And make it fast, if you don't mind."

That did the trick. With an ugly expression, she turned on her sparkly turquoise heels and stomped away and returned a few moments later, slamming the bottles onto the table.

"Someone's in a bad mood today," I commented under my breath. Unfortunately, it wasn't soft enough, and I made a new enemy in the barmaid of The Three Broomsticks.

We spent round half an hour in the bar, discussing homework, making up new nicknames for the professors—"Minnie is a classic," Sirius persevered. "We're not changing that"—and general things about our lives. Then the Quidditch talk started. I scooted away from James and next to Marlene, leaving the other three to their intense debate of who'll win the league this year.

"Thanks, back there," she said quietly. "I know this is really…insecure of me, but…"

"It's all right," I told her. "The way she was doing it—makes me want to punch her in the face myself."

"Did you really mean what you said to Sirius about Valentine's Day?" she asked.

"No, it was more like a desperate try to get him to start acting decent."

"Hey, Evans!" Sirius crowed, tipping back on his chair. "Chudley Cannons or Tutshill Tornadoes?"

"Manchester United," I retorted. "Come on, Black, you know I'm not a Quidditch person."

"Answer the question!"

"Fine. If I had to choose…the Tornadoes, I suppose. Chudley Cannon's colors are terrible."

"HA! You owe me, James! Pay up."

"They are unbelievable," Marlene muttered.

"Oh, by the way, since Valentine's Day is coming up—" he shot me a smirk. "—let's call each other by first names instead. It's going to be uncomfortable for both of us when you and James are married and I'm still calling you Evans."

"Watch what you're saying, Bla—Sirius." Merlin, did that sound weird. I had grown so accustomed to calling him Black—'Sirius' is just so foreign and _strange_…

"Okay, Lily. I've never called you Lily before," he said in wonder. "Wow, this was a good idea. Lily Lily Lily Lily Lily Lily Lily—"

"Shut up," I said wearily.

"—Lily Lily Lily Lily Lily Lily Lily Lily—"

"Sirius."

"Okay. I was just waiting for you to say my name, you know," he told me.

"Stop annoying her, Sirius. You know that's not going to end well." Dorcas yawned. "We should probably head back."

"Yeah, let's go," I said, picking up my coat. "And next time you say my name, Sirius, choke on it."

"Will do!"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: As you can see, I'm running behind schedule on the dates here. But that's all right, because I don't want this story to line up exactly with real life. Yeah, making up excuses for one's own laziness is always a good idea…<strong>

**~Gella**


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